Through the Years
by chichirichick
Summary: After DWMA, Maka and Soul have to find their place in each other's lives. It's our job to watch them change as the years go by. M for language, sex.
1. Year 1

Thanks for reading. As a note, this takes place a few years after the manga ends, post-graduation for our heroes. I definitely don't own Soul Eater. And the first chapter will be tame, but graphic sex is likely coming up next.

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She's been packing things, little things here and there, for the past month. Maybe she thinks I won't notice or maybe she wants me to notice. At this point, I don't really know my head from my ass (and I can almost hear Maka saying "Just at this point?).

But rewind with me to seven months ago on the couch in our shared apartment. We had gotten into this habit on Friday nights of staying in, renting an old movie and ordering pizza. Now, old meant just about anything goes and it was Maka's turn to find something to watch and she brought home "The Connection." I knew she'd gone to more than one place looking for it (it's a Jazz film from the 1960s) and I when I saw it I knew it was really just something she'd picked for _me_. For most of the movie, it just felt like she was watching me watch it, and in some weird way having her full attention made the movie even better.

She barely touched her pizza though and after getting up halfway through to clear the plates she seemed to plop back into the couch, not really her usual style. It was like she was trying to lay out, and I was definitely in the way, but she wanted me to be in the way. Her legs draped over my lap and the way her skirt fell you could easily see the curve of her thigh and the start of that gap… but I swear, I was watching the movie!

We'd never sat like that before, and I had struggled with where my hands should go (and where my eyes should go). I tried to settle on making my arms casually fall at her knees, but the angle was all wrong. I settled on my arms across her thighs but couldn't talk myself into opening my hands, making fists dangling over the edge of her leg. That was fine for five whole seconds before I realized it looked fucking stupid and relaxed my fingers over her skin. I looked through the corner of my eye and saw the red flaring along her cheekbones, her eyes finally no longer on me but watching the movie like her life depended on it.

And while I waited for it, no Maka chop came. And I found myself enjoying the touch, letting my fingers sway across the softness of her skin, something in me firing up as goosebumps raised on her flesh. I knew I was walking out on thin ice but, hell, she… well, Maka was, is, everything to me. The movie ended and my bladder was honestly about to burst since I hadn't made any move to get up, feeling like if I got up I'd ruin the closeness and she'd never let me come back to it. I looked at her and couldn't stop the huge grin creeping across my face. "That was really great, Maka, thanks."

"Yeah," her voice seemed small, like she hadn't heard what she was saying _yeah_ to. She started to lean forward like she was going to get up, going to break away from me, change the movie, go back to the status quo of bed by ten, but instead it was to lean into me and press her lips against my stupid grin. It was too fast, way too fast, and I didn't even get to move, to give into the kiss she was giving me. "I'm sorry," was what I got instead of her lips again and without anything else, she was up and into her bedroom, the door clicking behind her.

And your star, Soul "Eater" Evans, let the girl go. Hey, I did really have to go to the bathroom.

So back to today and all the little packing. I'm dreading it, because I know the possibilities, but I also know I can't _not_ talk to her about it or I'm just risking something more than her moving out. So I lean into her doorframe, watching her trying to look deep in thought at her desk and wait for her to say the first word because I'm still chicken shit.

After a good five minutes, she swings her eyes towards me. "What is it?"

I feel like I'm looking cool crossing my arms but I'm probably just looking like some sad sap holding myself. "When are you going to tell me where you're going?"

She swings the pen in her fingers before giving it three good taps, like she's counting out the words she's going to say. "I'm going somewhere?"

"Maka, I'm not playing. I know you've packed some stuff away. What's going on?" _Not to mention I feel like you're hiding something when we resonate, like there's some dark room with a piano for you, too._

There's a long, quaking breath from between her lips. "I accepted a job with internal investigations."

"So?"

"So, Kid wants me to travel around, see if I can't feel out any witch or DWMA problems as the two try and coexist. He's already gotten a couple complaints and-"

My hand clenches into a fist, grinding into the doorway. "And I'm not invited?"

"It's really just my Soul Perception skill that-"

"Which means I'm not required because you can fight all by yourself." _Okay, there, buddy, Soul, rein it in, don't do this._ But there's no stopping my mouth. "And what the fuck does that have to do with packing shit up? You taking your whole life with you or you just trying to find a way to cut me out completely? Or is it _that guy-_" _Oh, no, there you go, there you did it._

She's up out of her seat now, that Maka chop hand itching to do its business. "_That guy_ is named Aron, Soul, as if you didn't know for the past six months."

Yeah, check the calendar on that, guys. Seven months ago she was giving me a kiss and six months ago she was starting a serious one-on-one relationship with some other demon weapon. Repeat, not a meister, a demon weapon. And like I give a fuck about his name. "So what does _that guy_ think about your little vacation plans? Or are you just moving in with him?"

Maka looks almost instantly like she's lost steam, leaving me the only one with smoke coming out of my ears. Instead, she puts her hand on the desk like she needs it for balance. "He offered to come with me, but I told him it was really just over instead."

"Wh-what?" I can't stop the first syllable as a yell, but I get it in check once her nose starts to crinkle, signature Maka face for trying not to cry.

"I told him last month. I haven't seen him in three weeks."

I can't stop myself, this ugly emotional rollercoaster I'm strapped into where my teen-boy hormones are ready and rarin' to ruin everything. "You can tell him but you can't tell me? What the fuck is that about, Maka?"

Good job, teen-boy hormones, because Maka is right back on track, her hand clenching into fists, sending one straight for my chest. "Are you an idiot? It was easy to tell him because seeing my life without him isn't hard. Life without you, Soul, it's too…" Anything beyond that dissolves into tears. That fist that just knocked the air out of me (or maybe it was more her words that did that) releases and clenches into my shirt.

She's crying and there's really nothing that I _can't_ (and won't once I'm alone and can dissect every mistake I made) blame myself for in this conversation. She lets me swing an arm around her, pulling her into my chest. "Could you tell me why you think it has to be life without me?"

There's a sniffle and I can feel her hands kneading into the shirt against my back. It sends a tingle all the way up my spine, making my cheeks burn. "I want… I kissed you because I want more than this. But I'm scared of more than this."

"More than what?"

"Friends."

_Oh, yeah, duh, cool, cool, cool._ I'm dizzy in that excited, anticipating way. "What are you scared of?"

"Mom and Dad couldn't make it work."

"So you think I'm on Spirit's level?" I can't stop myself from pulling her off my chest, my hands clenching her shoulders ready to shake. "You see me chasing tail left and right? You see those love letters I get in my locker; I burn every one. I told you – you're mine, I'm yours, simple as that."

"Yes, I'm your meister but-"

"It's not just you being my meister, Maka. I'm yours as me, not as a weapon." Her nose is crinkling up again and I really can't take it. I let my hands move from her shoulders to her cheeks, letting the right one drift back into her hair and holy shit it feels like a dream, like why was I never doing that before? I'm sinking my hand deeper into her hair as I just pull her in, my lips ready this time for hers. I want to give her back that kiss but add just about a thousand percent more back to her, really make her hear it beyond my words.

"Soul," her voice is so cute, so dreamy, making the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

"Maka, I'm coming with you, where ever you go." I'm kissing her again and this time she's ready for me, her hands moving up my back.

We stop for a breath, for her to clear the tears from her eyes, and she looks at me, a smile threatening on her lips. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Maka. I'd follow you to the end and back."


	2. Year 1 (Episode 2)

Thanks for reading the 1st chapter and (in advance) the 2nd. I have other things I should be doing but obviously, after you finish all 25 volumes of Soul Eater you have to write fanfiction. It's a rule. Let me know what you think. **Warning: graphic sex in this chapter.**

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We've been on this Internal Investigations gig for about a month and a half, and, man, have I never been more impressed with Maka. I'm the cool background type, the backup for when shit gets tough, but Maka has really become the maestro of any room she walks into. So far, there hasn't been a meister or demon weapon we've come across that Maka hasn't swayed. The witches, well, they can be a bit of a different story, but that's why we're back at headquarters for a little, trying to see if we can't add a witch partnership to our group and add some representation that might ease the fear that we're just on the DWMA side of things.

Right now, Maka should be discussing things with Kim and Jackie, but who knows. For all I know, we'll end up with Blair. Regardless, I get some alone time at the apartment: my nice comfy bed, my Jazz records, a hot shower without Maka telling me to hurry up in the background. I put on "Bitches Brew" for old time's sake and collapse on the bed, my chest still a little damp because, hey, the apartment is mine right now, why do I need a shirt? It's just me, Miles Davis, and my good 'ole boxers until 3:00 PM. Two glorious hours of peace and quiet.

Something's poking me in the back and I pull a sweater out from underneath me. Yeah, so, that's a first; Maka's clothes on my bed. Don't get any ideas, it wasn't _that_, just, we made out here last night and I guess she got overheated or maybe she was sending me a message that I just didn't get and now that I think about it ugh, was it a message, oh shit. My mind's just going now, especially since once she took that sweater off it was just a tank top between my hand and her bare skin and when I got the courage to move that hand over her breast I got the best gift, a moan! A soft moan from Maka Albarn, who some might say is the queen of uptight. But that's about as far as this month and a half has bought me.

Not to say we're moving slow or anything, especially since she's not been all that shy about touching certain pieces of my body as long as it's with a layer of clothing in between. But that's torture, man, especially if there's no real private time lately for me to stop a certain body part from turning blue. Man, why am I dancing around it? I have fucking blue balls. Bad. And I'm picking up her sweater and I get that beautiful waft of Maka-scent, somewhere between plum and jasmine blossoms, and I can't really control myself anymore. But I'm alone, it's OK, this is natural. I've got eyes closed, last night's makeout session on my mind, her sweater in my left hand, and my right hand down my boxers. This will be a great start to my two hours and it'll be quick.

A month without this and my sensitivity's way up, especially since I don't have some emotionless porn for this but the thought of the girl that I… _oh boy_. At this point I know it's almost over, saving that hand over her boob thought for the last minute, and I'm pulling my dick out of my boxers and letting go of her sweater to use that hand to grab a tissue right before. But, see, I have to open my eyes to locate said tissue and that's when I see _the_ Maka Albarn (not my fantasy), her face red as a tomato, standing in my doorway, hand to her mouth. I definitely didn't hear her over the jazz and probably partially because I was in my own little world with dick in hand, but there she was. I practically climbed up the headboard, grabbing the closest thing, which so wonderfully had to be her sweater, to cover myself in the process.

"Oh, shit, Maka!" And she's just staring. I'm covered, but I don't feel covered, and my dick just won't stop throbbing like it doesn't know now's not a good time. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd be home and I was alone and…" Words are spewing from my mouth and I'm not making much sense at this point and nothing I say seems to _not_ sound creepy, especially with the obvious evidence that I was jerking off to _her_. But she's my girlfriend so… nope, probably still weird for her since this is probably the first time she's seen… (or maybe not, maybe _that guy_ got that honor) and that last thought sends me instantly spiraling, and my dick finally starts to agree that maybe now isn't the time.

Maka let her eyes wander elsewhere but her legs moved her forward until she's actually climbing onto the bed next to me. I honestly don't know what to do and she pulls on the sweater! It's not like I can have a tug of war with her right now and I just have to give it up. I can't even look at her or it or the whole situation, especially since my body is interpreting this all on its own and just on the verge of bursting all over again, all jealousy and anxiety aside. "What do I do?" and it's not some small voice, but I can still hear the anxiety in Maka's tone.

"You don't have to, _we_ don't-"

"I know. But, you… want to?"

"Yes," and I try not to make that sound too fucking excited.

"We're not having sex!" Her face flares up red.

I could give her the rule of semantics, since technically if she's going to do what I think she's going to do that's oral sex, so yes, we will be in a way, but I know better than that. "No, I know. I'm only up for what you're ready for."

"So… what do I do?" It's like she's ready for meister training, and I can almost see a calculation in her eyes that is actually kind of turning me on.

"Kiss me first," I try my best to put on the cool voice, heaven forbid my voice crack in the middle of this. Maka does, moving her hand down my chest, fingers playing at my waistline, which is a beautiful kind of agony. I have to break away from her kiss, "You could use your hand or… or your mouth."

"It sounds like the second option is what you want."

If Maka is reading me, that's fine, because her answers are right as usual. "Only if you want to, Maka." To be honest, I don't even know how long I can keep this up, feeling like I was on the edge with her kissing me alone. "While you're doing that can I…" Oh, fuck, am I trying to ruin this? Asking for more? "Can I put my hand in your shirt?"

"How?"

I hook a finger in the top of her tank top. "Like this." I turned my palm to her chest, my fingers just barely slipping under the cloth. "Then, under your bra."

"Oh." I didn't think Maka's face could go brighter, and she took an aching moment to turn it over in her mind. "Alright, Soul."

"Tell me if you want me to stop."

"Yeah," she locked eyes with me, a smile starting to clear away some of the embarrassment from her face. With the contract signed and dated, Maka leaned over, letting my hand slip the rest of the way into her shirt, under her bra. I mean, I really wanted to touch her boob, but honestly, a part of me wanted to make sure she was feeling something, too, like all of this wasn't just about me getting my rocks off.

But, oh, shit, when her lips pass over my tip I'm just grounded into the backboard and I can't stop the groan from my own mouth as she just keeps going. I try not to let my hips jut, just let Maka pick her own rhythm but it's hard not to buck at this new feeling, the best feeling. I almost forget about my hand in her shirt, but I squeeze, my thumb brushing over her nipple, feeling it harden. I move my thumb again, this time pinching it between my forefinger. Maka moans as she's moving back down my shaft and I don't even have the second to warn her because that reverberation, that fucking moan, tips me right over the edge. I choke out my own cry and it feels like my whole body shared in that one.

It's the panic on her face that wakes me up from my temporary bliss. "The bathroom. Spit it in the sink."

Maka bounces off, cupping at her mouth and disappearing into the bathroom. I know in all the pornos they swallow it happily, but honestly, how good can that shit actually taste? I hear her spit and rinse and she pauses, the water still running. I grab the tissue, wiping away some of the residues before slipping my boxers back in the right place. "Maka?"

She shuts off the water and comes back in, slower this time. I don't even let her get a word in before I pull her to me, giving her one of those thousand percent kisses. "That was… amazing," I breathe across her lips, giving them another quick peck. "Will you let me… I want to do the same for you, Maka."

I'm starting to wonder if that blush is permanent since she can't seem to cool the color from her face. "I don't… I'm not sure I want you to see."

"To see?" I lean back a little, looking in her eyes. "You think mine was pretty? I don't really care what it looks like."

"I'm not sure I could take being… you know, naked."

Taking one look at Maka you can see, even with clothes on, she doesn't really have much to worry about in the body department, but OK. She's got a hangup we have to work through and if she's nervous about it she probably couldn't even cum if she wanted to while naked, so there has to be another way, right? And can I even make her cum? I'm a simple man, with simple motions to get there, but what about her? Did she even know what she liked? Oh, man, oh, man. It looks like she's panicking and I'm falling right down the rabbit hole with her.

But that amazing moan comes back to me. "Ok, not naked. Sit between my legs, put your back on my chest."

"Soul…"

"If you don't like it, you don't want it, tell me to stop, but I at least want to give it a try. I can't be selfish like that." She did like I asked, fully clothed. I moved her hair to one side, exposing her neck. "Ok, I swear, Maka, that I'm only going to look at your neck."

"My neck?"

"Yeah, just your neck," I grinned, pressing my lips into the skin of her neck. She almost giggled, trying to make it more like a laugh, but still falling on the cute side. She relaxed into me with another well-placed kiss closer towards her shoulder. "I'm going to use both hands, one up, one down." I could feel Maka hold her breath as my left slips under her shirt and my right disappears in her waistband. It is a tight fit on both, but I have enough range of motion for what I want. I go back to the routine from before, using my thumb and forefinger to toy with her nipple. I know I used to tease her when we were younger, but she got to a C cup by graduation and now with it in my hand, it's exactly the size I want.

I don't want to be too busy with both hands, overload her, or scare her, so I slow into just a hold, feeling the weight of her breast in my hand. As I take a break with one, my right moves down, reaching for the split of her lips. I press softly on the fold, my fingers slipping into the slick crease. Maka gasps, and I'm motionless, not sure what that sound is. Her back arches into me, "Don't stop."

There's no killing the smile I have now and I push my fingers a little deeper, gliding two inside of her. Maka's hips buck and I caress her nipple again, hearing her bite back another moan. I give my fingers a few slow pumps, letting Maka control the slide with her hips. I made myself a liar and I'm looking at her face, she's flushed and breathing hard, her eyes shut tight. I guess she can sense me looking at her and opens her eyes, finding mine. She starts to smile and holy shit is it the cutest thing and she even slips herself towards the left, letting my hand slide from her breast to brace her, just so she can tilt her lips to meet mine. If she didn't have me already that little maneuver right there would have done it.

She's got me confident as hell as I slide my fingers over her clit. I can hear her fingers clamp into the sheet and every part of me wants to make her moan again. I start the slow circles with my fingers, only a little pressure to start, feeling her breath catch. Our lips part and I press my fingers just a little more firmly, still circling. "Is this OK?"

"Yes," Maka smiled again, pecking at my lips.

A little more pressure and I speed up the circles. Her legs are trembling and she starting to rock her hips and I'm almost afraid I'll lose my rhythm when it starts, that beautiful sound gurgling up from her throat. "Yeah," I'm half congratulating myself and half encouraging her. She's gasping and it comes out as a half cry, half sigh, reverberating in my chest as she clung to me, her hips slowly stopping. I removed my slick fingers and without really thinking brought them to my lips, tasting her. OK, fucking weirdo, what are you doing but why can't you stop it and damn, I just want to eat her up. "Was that OK?"

"Yes," she says a little more emphatically, her hands seeming to search every inch of her body.

"Maka…" I steal another kiss from her lips, tasting the satisfaction in the smile on her face. "I really hope this was what you wanted. I don't want for it to… get weird, or anything, I just… I want you to feel good." Ugh, that sounded stupid, so lame, completely uncool, but at least the truth.

She seems to be coming out of a haze, her eyes finally focusing on mine. "I didn't know this was what I wanted, but I don't regret it, Soul. Don't worry."

"Yeah, OK, good." Come on, buddy, play it cool. Say another stupid word instead of creating full sentences. "So, we're OK?"

"Better than OK."


	3. Year 1 (Episode 3)

Thanks for stopping by for another installment. **Warning: graphic** **sex_._**

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_I'm Maka Albarn and I can totally do this_ is the moment's current mantra. I'm also Maka Albarn, and I'm naked in Soul's bed, trying to play it cool. He's not even here, having left for the gym what seems like hours ago, which means any minute now he should be coming back. _I'm Maka Albarn and if he isn't here like this minute I'm probably going to chicken out and-_ and I'm already in the doorway to his room because my bravery, my adventure, is ditching me when I hear the click of the door and his signature, "Yo!"

"Hi!" I squeak, already retreating back to his bed, pulling the sheet up to my chin. Looks like I've made this bed and I'm going to have to lie in it. Ha, ha, ha, kill me, please. And to be honest, I don't know why I've still held onto that stupid stuff from when we were kids, when he would call me flat-chested, or no butt, or any myriad of other prepubescent bullshit. Every time we fool around, he's always eager to touch them, to talk to me about what he likes about them, even though technically he's never even seen, just touched under my clothing. He's come up with some inventive ways, but… I knew I could only kite him for so long.

I can hear his footsteps starting in the hallway, "I'm just going straight to the shower. Black Star kicked my ass today." And he walks right by his room, not even glancing, thank goodness.

"O-ok," I'm stuttering, pulling the sheet closer, waiting for his steps to recede all the way down the hallway to the bathroom.

But they stop, pause, and then suddenly back up, bringing him back in the view of his doorway. "Uh, Maka, what are you-?"

"Nothing!" I gulp.

"Why are you in my bed?"

"Go take your damn shower!"

My yell causes him to physically jolt and he takes a step back. "Yeah, ok." I can tell by the look on his face he knows this is fishy, but he doesn't seem to know how fishy so I just glare until he disappears from view. I hear the bathroom door shut, the shower start to run, and I'm pretty sure my heart is going to explode.

_Okay, Maka, are you going to be a chicken? Really? You made it this far and…_ I lift the sheet, letting it billow and hover for a moment over my body. It's no more Maka-no-tits, they're definitely there, a full C, sometimes a D cup depending on the bra. I even, oh, God, saying this is hard, but I even trimmed the curls of blond hair that cover my lower, you know, because even though I couldn't bring myself to shave it, it should at least look neat. So it all looks fine, right? I guess I don't even know how it's supposed to look, really, and Soul has said more than once that if it's attached to me he's into it, but there's still so much doubt and agony.

And that's what I'm doing, relaxing naked in my boyfriend's bed, drowning in doubt and agony while he takes a nice, hot, long, way too fucking long shower. And that eternity of a shower ticks away until I hear the water turn off, the door creak, his soft padding down the hallway. He walks right into the room like he owns the place (you're right, it's his room) and stands at the foot of the bed. "You here to watch?" His smirk is way too wide as he tugs playfully at the towel around his waist.

I can feel my cheeks growing hot. It doesn't matter how many times I look at him, I could look forever at the cut of his stomach, the muscles across shoulders that have broadened into a man's, and that amazing curve of his ass in just about any pair of pants he wears. Honestly, I do want to watch, and I envy the fact that he has the confidence to want me to watch. "Don't, just don't get dressed."

"Oh?" More smirk and I can see his towel already starting to raise, that little perv. "What are you doing in there, anyway?" He takes another step closer and his eyes widen a little and it seems like it's finally dawning on him. "Are you…?"

"Yes," I murmur, trying to relax my grip on the sheet.

"Awesome, Maka, that's great!" As if he's congratulating me on some new move, but it's sweet the excitement.

"You're just excited because I'm, I'm naked."

He laughs, running a hand through his hair because he knows that drives me crazy. "Well, that, yeah, but it also means I'm doing something right. I want you to be comfortable with me." That signature Soul smirk morphs into his beautiful smile, something I don't think has graced his face anywhere other than this room right now. So when he leans down and tugs on the bedsheet, I throw my hands up in mock surrender, letting him slowly pull the sheet back to expose me bit by bit. His smile is fading into halfway between awe and hunger. "Oh, fuck, Maka."

"Very eloquent." I'm resisting the urge to use my hands to cover up whatever dignity I have left.

He puts one knee on the bed like he's fighting with himself to take it slow. "This kind of beauty makes it hard to think straight, let alone talk."

I know I'm practically so red I might be mistaken for a tomato at this point, but a little bit of confidence is starting to blossom. "Oh, yeah?" I cup my breast and absently run over the nipple with my thumb.

"Fuck…" He's kneeling on the bed now and he lets his towel fall off of him, it almost comically hanging on his already stiff member for a second before he tosses it aside. "Turn over," his voice is low and husky, almost out of breath.

Ok, so that ounce confidence starts to waver since I never considered my backside in this equation but he's also never spoken to me in that voice before, it's a real command from someone who usually just goes with the flow. I hesitate but do as I'm asked, rolling away from the edge of the bed, trying to take a peek at his face over my shoulder. I can feel him moving on the bed and a hand glides up my leg, stopping to cup the cheek. His hand slips away but comes back, surprising me with a little slap, just enough to make a sound but not enough to necessarily hurt.

"Hey-" I start to argue but I'm cut off by his body weight smooshing into me, sending me almost faceplanting into the bed.

"Maka, you're really amazing," he whispers in my ear, making my heart skip a beat.

But I'm also about to be really dead since he's a heavy grown man and I don't know why he acts like he's still built like a fourteen-year-old.

He finally rolls off, falling on his back next to me, his hand coming up to clear the hair from my face. "I'm really sorry."

"Huh?" I'm still recovering from the smoosh but that worried look in his eyes, the anxiety that's suddenly hidden away all that drooling excitement has me flustered.

"I feel like… well, I did that to you, didn't I? With all the stupid shit I used to say when we were kids, you know, about the way you looked." He pulls his hand away and puts it on his chest, his eyes wandering over his scar, ashamed to even look at me. "I was stupid and I just wanted to protect myself from getting hurt. If I could make you think I didn't even like you, there was no way you'd be able to reject me. It was easier just being in a little pain of not having you than having the big pain of you saying there wasn't a chance. But I left you in a lot of pain, didn't I?"

"Maybe a little." I couldn't lie for his comfort, especially since a lot of those phrases burned to memory ran through my head during his shower time. He's right, it did hurt, but there's something in the fact that he realizes it. But part of it's me, too, and I have to admit that. "And maybe a little of my own fear of rejection. If you don't see it, I'll never know that you don't like it." I slip my fingers under his hand on his chest, smiling as he squeezes. "I didn't want to lose you either."

"You were stuck with me whether I was seeing it or not," his laugh vibrated under my fingers, "But I definitely, definitely appreciate the view. Mind showing me the front again?"

I rolled back, pulling him with me. He was careful this time to avoid the full body weight, just leaning again my side. Without another word, his head dips and he uses his right hand to bring my breast to his mouth, his tongue teasing at my nipple. While hands are nice for pinching and tweaking, the feeling of his tongue rolling over the tip, of his lips latching and sucking is almost too much for me.

Soul detaches and sits back a little, "Move over here a little." He slides a firm hand under my buttcheek, angling my legs towards him. That hand slips up, grasping the back of my thigh, his other hand doing the same on the opposite, and he starts to finally move my legs apart. I barely feel like there is air in the room. We are naked, so naked, and he's seeing that part of me that I barely want to give a name to, but there is it, in all of it's trimmed glory, my pussy. I could just die.

And this is where my fear is. In the past, we'd promised no sex, none, until it was explicitly said by me. I didn't really want to shoulder that burden, but Soul doesn't have the ability _not_ to be honest, and he's made it clear that sex is something he'd want with me, anytime, anywhere. In other words, I'm holding us back. As of this morning, my body was holding us back. Now that that's clear, or getting there, what's the only thing keeping us from the last hurdle other than scaredy-cat Maka?

"Hey, earth to Maka. You OK?"

I snap out of my new panic spiral and let out a deep breath. "Yeah, are you OK?"

"That's a silly question." I feel his thumb run down the line between my legs, teasing at my opening. "Are you ready? I'm going to show you why my middle name's Eater."

I can't stop myself from bursting into laughter. "That's the cheesiest-" Air hitches in my lungs, killing my laughs and my admonishment, as his tongue retraces the line he just made. I can't even process that sensation before his tongue flirts with my opening before moving frontward, lapping at my clit. I can already feel the wave starting, that slow rise making my legs tremble. I'm letting the moans roll off my tongue as he twirls his faster. The next moan is embarrassingly loud as he slides two fingers into me, rocking them in and out as his tongue keeps pressing circles into my clit. I sink my hands into his hair and see that he's so engrossed in his rhythm and damn, that is just so hot. That feeling is creeping in my stomach. I can't leave my fingers in his hair for fear I'm about to pull some out because my toes are curling and I know what's coming, so I clutch at the sheets, letting the sounds erupt from my throat.

God, I really hope the neighbors aren't home because even with all the soundproofing in the world the next three apartments might still hear me.

With a few more half agonizing licks, Soul sits back up, grabbing the discarded towel to clear some of the fluid from his face. He's fucking beaming, that dumb smile back on his face, as he crashes back to the bed at my side, a hand hooking around my waist.

"That was the cheesiest line," I repeat, my breathing still half ragged.

"Yeah, but was I wrong?"

"Nope." I relax my trembling legs and press my forehead to his. "Give me a minute and you're next."

"Take your time," his voice is still brimming with pride. He propped himself up, his hand gliding from my waist up to the curve of my breast. I realized he was looking at me, almost studying the curves, the textures of my skin, his eyes flitting downward as his hand slid to my pelvis bone. "Maka, did I tell you before that you're beautiful? Please tell me I did because it would be a travesty otherwise."

"Soul…"

"I mean it. Can you just walk around the apartment like this all the time? I mean, I won't get anything done and we won't be able to have guests anymore but that's just a small price to pay." He lightly feathered his lips over mine, barely giving me a kiss through my giggles. "Hey, how about we forget about me for right now and try round two for you."

"Round two?" My legs seemed to tremble in disagreement but that hand that was roaming lower and lower was starting to make me think otherwise.

"Yeah, my fingers didn't get enough of a workout."

"What about a third option?" I try my best to dish out the sultry voice and it seems to work, his eyebrows raising.

"Oh? Do tell." Again, Soul is almost drooling, probably thinking of another use for his hands or his tongue.

I lose the vixen voice and hear the sheepishness push through, "I bought condoms." And that kind of derails any working neural signals for Soul for a good five seconds. I poke his arm to try to jumpstart some life. "I put them in your drawer."

His eyes roam over to the bedside table and then back to me as if both might be a figment of his imagination. "Maka, you sure?"

"You said it was my call. I wouldn't have bought them if I wasn't sure." Which may be a little bit of a lie. I bought them pretty terrified, sure that if I ran into anyone I knew while purchasing them it would mean having to move to another country.

"Yeah, but, really, are you sure?" It's not an exciting sound in his voice, more bordering on worrying, anxious as he looks over every inch of my face like he's trying to find the seam of a mask.

"Yes." I'm sure some people might argue that you can't be one hundred percent sure about anything, but I'm pretty sure this is one of those moments where I am. I'm looking into those ruby red eyes lined with love and concern for me, that scraggly white hair that I made a mess of while Soul was giving me a pleasure I hadn't even dreamed of, that crookedly smiling mouth that always kissed me with such reckless abandon and it just hits me that yeah, there's no reason not to.

Soul finally sits up after lingering over my answer and climbs onto the other side of the bed, swinging his legs over the edge. His back is to me and I can tell he's thinking again, so I reach out my hand and graze down his spine. This jump-starts him back to the drawer, opening it, taking out the box. Another pause, only to be broken by his laugh, "Maka, economy size?"

"It was a better deal," I grumble, poking him.

"No, don't lie." He throws a smile at me over his shoulder. "You just know once you get me started…"

"Ugh, don't finish that sentence." This time I punctuate it with a kick.

Soul rips open the box and pulls out a string of condoms, ripping one off. It's in his hand as he climbs back onto the bed, moving to pin me underneath him. His face hovers over mine, studying my face. "I want you to know this is important to me. I didn't just give the choice to you because I don't care. This isn't just… this is a big deal."

"Yeah, it is," I surprise him by giving him a kiss on the nose. "That's why I'm only doing it with you."

He snorts out a laugh, "Only with me, huh?"

"You're the only person I've trusted enough, ever. Now stop wasting time."

"Yes, ma'am." But Soul being Soul starts to waste time anyway, but in a good sort of way, slowing down to kiss me like we're back at our first-ever makeout sessions and there isn't anything else to do but kiss. He doesn't even know it, or maybe he does, but he's making me even more ready to love him, to trust him with this. Even when given the choice, he slows down, never in a rush, and makes sure he does it right. "Ok," he breathes out and rolls off of me, examining the packaging as if it's a bomb before ripping as gently as can be.

Even though he seems to know the motions, Soul's eyebrows are knitted as he slips the latex down his shaft. It's an art, I guess, and I'm glad it doesn't look like he's mastered it. "Ok," he repeats and now I'm sure it's not for me. I get a little _deja vu_ as he repositions me, gliding my legs apart with a lot less resistance and nervousness on my part at least. "I'm going to go slow," again, not necessarily a message totally for me.

I reach out and bring his face back to mine, looking into that crimson gaze. "I'm ready."

Soul smiles, "Yeah, me, too." I can feel the pressure of his tip, and it feels like fire as he starts to glide into me. It's like when you stand to close to the flame, that warmth feels good but it makes your skin feel raw, not really pain but making you more aware that it exists, that there's a space inside me that he's filling. "Maka…" My name blends into a groan as he hits his depth. There's still that tingle, but as he gets to the final part of his thrust I can feel it, a little undulation in me, and it's definitely not a bad thing. Before I can really explore the feeling he starts trying to set himself into a rhythm, forcing himself slow at first as promised.

But he hits that spot again and I can't stop myself from moaning. I should note that my noises, no matter how ridiculous I find them, always seem to do it for him so as soon as my sound escapes my lips, any confidence lost from the newness of the moment is gone. Soul finally stops concentrating on worry and snakes his free hand up my stomach, taking a firm grasp of my breast, his thumb almost instantly rubbing over my nipple. His mouth comes crashing against mine as his thrusts start to reach a fever pitch. That coil in my stomach is winding tight, that spot firing each time he drives into me.

Soul groans into my mouth, his hips jutting out of rhythm. He finally slows but doesn't pull himself from me, instead, he collapses on me for a moment, his head falling into the crook of my neck. "Maka…"

I want to laugh because you know it had to be good if Soul is speechless, but I go with a soft smile, sinking my face in his hair, getting the scent of his mint shampoo. I hold him for a while, my one hand smoothing his hair, my other trailing up and down his side, amusing myself with his goosebumps. I'm almost afraid he's asleep, but he finally plants two firm hands at my side, pulling himself up and out of me. I try not to see it as cold as he rolls away to the end of the bed, disposing of the condom and cleaning himself off, but it's hard when he's not saying anything and his shoulders seem hunched. "Soul…"

"Maka, I… you're going to stay with me, right?"

That sadness in his voice has my heart in my throat. I get myself up from the bed and push against him, throwing my arms around his neck, peeping my head over his shoulder. "I will." I'm starting to wonder if this was another one of those things that he's tried to play it cool about but he's actually not (this would not be the first time). "Why are you worried?"

I can see him trying to have the conversation by himself in his head first, his eye darting back and forth between imaginary Maka and imaginary Soul. "I don't know," he finally erupts from the dream conversation.

I hug him a little tighter and he makes a fake strangle noise. "When you figure it out, we'll talk about it?"

"Yeah." He's still not really smiling but he turns himself enough to hook an arm around my waist, drawing me into his lap without any struggle on my part. It doesn't seem comfortable for him, holding my weight like this, but his hands are grasping at me like he's afraid I'll float away.

My head is resting on his chest, my lips lingering on the skin there, planting an assortment of kisses. There it is, a little bit of a smile starting to creep back, his grip starting to loosen. "Soul, there's something I want."

"Yeah?" His eyebrows raise and he's settling into a smirk.

"Let's try one bed for a while."

He almost seems back to normal, that smirk developing into his signature snide look. "Can't get enough, huh?"

I laugh across his skin, watching him tremble a little at the sensation. "I just want to be closer, OK?"

"Yeah, OK." He tilts his head in, bringing me from the hiding spot on his chest and envelops my lips with his, searching my mouth like he wants to take those words straight from it. I think I'm starting to understand him, that he wants, that he needs, and I'm not sure he had any of that before. He's scared of it, and he's scared of it going away. I think I can work with that.


	4. Year 1 (Episode 4)

Sorry for the wait, but I had to get married and go on my honeymoon, haha. Hope you enjoy the next bit, more development and filler, no sex this time.

* * *

I try sleeping but it's really no good. My mind just won't shut up and it's not that nice kind of constant thoughts of Maka it's those dark kinds like before I confronted her about the damn packing. My body is screaming because it's tired, my eyeballs starting to feel like dried cotton. I look at the clock - 4 AM - then back at Maka, her perfectly little form curled up next to mine, her hand still touching my shoulder. That selfish part of me wants to wake her, talk until maybe my head clears up, but I'm not even sure what in my head needs clearing.

We fucked. It's what I wanted. It's what she says wanted. But now I'm… what? I'm definitely not over it like I've lost the feelings I have or anything. Instead, it's the opposite. Like that dial is turned all the way up and I'm feeling for the both of us and then some. In my head, before it happened, I was cool. Sex would be cool. It'd be like her blowjobs and all the other stuff. But she was vulnerable, she showed me a side of her that no one else got to see or might never see again, just me, only me.

I'm stuck in that thought for what seems like an eternity but when I look at the clock again it's only 4:30. That's it, I give up. I wish I could give her that picture-perfect morning where we both wake up, smiling into each other's sleepy faces but if I lay in this bed for another second I'll burst and she doesn't deserve her own sleep intruded upon. I move as slow as possible, knowing she could just wake up from my motion, but finding that Maka apparently couldn't be woken for doomsday, her breathing not even changing as I slink out of bed and into the hallway to the kitchen.

It's coffee first, hoping that'll make this even minutely more bearable. That first sip of hot, black liquid is enough to give me the momentum to move to the couch. I wish I could turn on some jazz, maybe half float into sleep on the couch, but again I'd be risking Maka's sleep so I opt for the TV practically muted at two with the subtitles on. I'm really just watching the faces move across the screen, trying to keep my brain active enough that it doesn't circle back to my feelings.

And what about Maka's? She's fitfully asleep - didn't even have a problem falling asleep, just went from talking softly into my arm to snoozing in a minute flat. Was sex no big deal for her? It can't be, especially with all the body stuff and she agreed it was important. But she just let it all roll off her and now she's sleeping like a baby. Oh, fuck.

I take another gulp of coffee and try to find relief on another channel. Nothing, nothing, nothing, especially at 5 AM (thankfully time is passing). Any noise in the apartment has me jumping, hoping that it's Maka shuffling out of the bedroom to check on me but, nope, nada, nothing. Three cups of coffee and eight rounds of infomercials later and I've made it to 7 AM. Still no stirring from her, but I think I've actually started to form a plan. I pick up the phone, dialing.

"Hello?" Kid answers as if he's also been awake for hours but didn't need four cups of coffee.

"Hey, I know this isn't even possible but is Liz awake?"

Predictably, Kid scoffs at the other end of the line. "You know what time it is, right?"

"Yeah…" I sigh. I know I should have waited but this day has me all messed up. "Can you wake her for me?"

"So, you're trying to have me murdered?"

I give the best laugh I can with this amount of sleep. "Okay, how about we meet in the middle and I tell you the plan and you make sure the girls are up to it?"

Kid gives an anguished sigh, "I'm listening…"

I give every last detail of my master plan hatched from my half functioning brain. I'm actually glad that this is a conversation with Kid since he's giving his more than constructive criticism left and right, ironing out kinks that the coffee didn't fix. It actually seems to work by the time we're finished and I hang up, leaving him with the responsibility of getting the Thompson sisters in gear.

Next is Tsubaki, since Black Star doesn't schedule his own appearances. The call with her is even quicker since my plan is already solid. By the time I'm off the phone it's 7:30 AM, which is usually Maka's wake-up time, no alarms needed. With this in mind, I force myself up, going back to the kitchen to start another round of coffee and whipping whatever we have in the apartment up for breakfast. I'm done with the pancake batter and the toppings by the time she's padding from the bedroom to the kitchen.

It's the best feeling in the world when she sneaks up behind me, wrapping her arms around me to clutch my chest. "Good morning," she whispers into my back.

Oh, man, I'm fucking melting, and I'm all stuttery and discombobulated like a preteen at a school dance. "Hey," and I'm half sure my voice cracks. She doesn't seem to notice and spends a few more seconds nuzzling into my back. "I've got pancakes and coffee if you want them."

"Yes, please." She gives me one more squeeze and then detaches, wandering back down the hallway and disappearing into the bathroom.

By the time I'm arranging two pancakes and fresh fruit on a plate, I hear her scrape the chair against the floor, depositing herself at the table. I turn, placing my fumbling creation in front of her. Maka's grinning like a kid, her hands clasped together as if she's about to squeal with joy and I swear she does under her breath just for a second before composing herself. I retreat for the coffee and when I come back she's still mesmerized, looking from me to the plate. "Don't be so excited. You haven't tasted it yet."

She just about snatches her coffee from me and takes a deep whiff before bringing it slowly to her mouth, taking the tiniest sip to test it. I get that commercial approval "ah" before I disappear back into the kitchen to recover myself, too overloaded with just the way she is. I know that this is Maka, this every day, every morning Maka. She _always_ takes the first sip of her coffee like that but today it's making my heart hammer in my chest and I just want to grab that coffee cup out of her hand and kiss her like I haven't seen her in weeks. I try to think about my pancakes in the pan, try to keep rated G, level and steady thoughts, but I'm almost sure I need to tap out.

"Hurry up!" She sounds pleasant but persistent.

With my plate and a new cup of coffee in hand, I make my way back to the table, sitting across from her. She doesn't pick up her fork until I'm sitting, but I almost don't have the will to use mine, no sleep stealing my hunger away from me. I settle on that fourth (fifth? they're blending together) cup of coffee and sip as she, well, she shovels the pancakes into her mouth. Thank goodness for that, because her insanity breaks a little of the anxiety in me, getting a good laugh out of my chest. Maka doesn't even acknowledge since eating isn't a crime as far as she's concerned, eliciting another snort from me.

I manage to get a few mouthfuls of the pancake before the phone rings._ Perfect timing, Liz, as long as that's hopefully you._ I point to my mouth and Maka gets the message, getting up and answering the phone. "Oh, hi, Liz. It's early for you, isn't it?" There's a long pause, Liz being a born storyteller. "Hold on a second." Maka slips a hand over the receiver.

"What's going on?" I try for another bite of pancake but I'm not sure I can chew through the stress, it feeling like sand in my mouth.

"Well, I guess the _girls _want to go out today. _Bonding_?" Maka looks skeptical but sighs. "Are we…?"

"Breakfast was as far as I got today. Go do girl bonding, or whatever." _Play. It. Cool. Soul._ I'm trying but what's left of the pancake is choking me, punishment for talking with my mouth full, and Maka doesn't look one hundred percent convinced like I thought she would.

She takes one more second before uncovering the phone. "Yeah, I'll be there. I'll leave in thirty? OK. Bye." Maka hangs up but hovers over the phone for a second. "I guess that's nice."

I shrug, "You're popular."

"I guess." She walks over and smoothes the hair back from my forehead, planting a kiss there. "Thank you for breakfast."

"Yeah, any time." I don't let her get away that easily, lightly grasping her chin, pulling her down to get her lips to mine. She tastes like syrup and strawberries, way better than the pancakes on my plate.

"You make me want to be late," she laughs.

"Go," I groan, giving her a gentle push on the hip. I watch her leave and then start clearing the dishes, undoing the mess I made. I'm heading into dangerous toddler territory because I just can't seem to vibe with all these wants. I want her to stay. I want her to go. I want her to stop all this cute shit but I literally don't think I can live without it if she does. I'll die, really, I will. "What is this?" I complain into the bubbles before I rinse the last dish.

"Ok…" Maka elongates the _O_ as she pops her head into the kitchen. "I guess I'm leaving."

"Ok," just the short answer from me. Our eyes lock and I don't know what to do, but I know what I want to do. _Okay, big want, let's go._ "Come here, before you go." I dry my hands on the rag over my shoulder as steps the rest of the way into the room. When she's close enough, I grab her around the waist because I just want to, need to, feel her curves against me. I get a little gasp in reply and get a second one as I'm taking my second taste of berry off her lips. "Have a good time," I breathe across her lips.

"Yeah," she manages to stutter out, her hand coming to my chest, pushing herself free. Her face is on fire but she's smiling. She tortures me with her teeth biting her lower lip before turning and disappearing from the doorway.

"Oh, fuck," I whisper to the room. _Ok, Soul, now's the time to get your shit together. You sent her off and she fell for it, so meditate or some shit and _get it together. That last part booms in my head, leaving me to clutch the sink, staring at the bubbles starting to dissipate in the drain. This helps, watching that slow popping, maybe like counting sheep or something, and I'm starting to think I could really get myself in shape today if-

It's the doorbell.

I'm there in a second, ready to let Maka back in, ready to forget about wanting to be alone for the day, but it's not Maka.

"Yo," Black Star gives a half-wave, seeming bored with it already.

"You're supposed to be at home, on pain of death." I grabbed his lazy, bored face into a headlock, pulling him through the door. "Why the hell are you here?"

Black Star stomps on my foot but I'm not letting up. "Tsubaki sent me. She said I can't be trusted by myself."

I give his neck one more twist before relinquishing. "She's not wrong."

"And Liz and Patty said I don't get out enough," Kid's voice comes from behind and I turn just in time to see him closing the door.

"So I get rid of all the girls and I just get all the boys? That's some luck." I shrug at Kid, hitching a thumb over in Black Star's direction, "And you couldn't just spend time with him? Why am I included?"

"It seemed weird that you wanted everyone gone. Like you were up to something."

"Yeah, up to something," Black Star echoed.

"I suppose you could say it piqued our interest." Kid walks past me, pulling Black Star into the living room. I have no choice but to follow them, watching as each takes a spot on the couch, Kid sitting like an English gentleman while knucklehead throws himself with reckless abandon, making me fear for the springs.

"What were you plannin' anyway? Another round of private pocket pool?" Black Star wriggles his eyebrows.

_Why do I tell my friends anything? _Not that I told that whole story, just the part where Maka walked in, but you can be sure the boys have filled in the blanks on their own. "Shut up, at least I get some." I crash next to Black Star on the couch.

"I'll have you know, Tsubaki lets me get to first and a half base."

"First and a half…?" I flick his ear, shooting an incredulous look at Kid. Kid shrugs and I doubt he's following, but I'm pretty sure at this point. "You mean you creep on her in the bath."

"Exactly!"

Another ear flick and Black Star is using his feet to try to push me out of range.

"Disgusting," Kidd sighs, leaning back to try to get out of range of both of us.

"But what is up with you? Why the lonesome act?" Black Star stops his end of the commotion.

"Ah, it's nothing," I try but that doesn't seem to convince either of them. I'm not exactly ready to kiss and tell, especially something so big like this, so I sit there just flicking between their stares for a while.

Faithful 'ole Black Star is the first one to throw up his hands. "Fine, whatever, dude. Just get ready, I'm gonna beat your ass." He stands and walks over to the TV, flipping it on and turning on the gaming system. It's a relief to see Kid take the controller and all three of us dig into the game. It feels like an endless free for all with Black Star bickering at each loss. I can tell they're still not exactly letting me off the hook, especially with all the side glancing, but they both let me try to avoid the conversation for a while.

We're halfway through what feels like the eightieth match when Kid finally clears his throat. "How're things with Maka?"

"Great." I feel like this sounds convincing because, at the root of it all, we are great, but it's _me_. "I just…" I clear my throat and find them both looking at me, making my mouth dry up.

"Are you breaking up with her?" Black Star is instantly shouting and almost breathing in my mouth, his face so close to mine.

"No!" I smash a hand into his face, pushing him back to his side of the couch.

"The opposite?" Kid's much more restrained.

"Yeah," I laugh weakly and let my controller fall into my lap. "I just, we can't break up, you know? I can't do that."

"So, she broke up with you, then?" Black Star muffles from behind my hand.

"No!" I pull my hand away, but not before adding a flick to his forehead.

"The opposite?" Kid sounds like a broken record but he's right.

"I think so, I hope so. We're… I think we're closer than before. It's moving forward but…"

Kid nods like this is some pedestrian shit to him, "You're afraid there's an endpoint."

Black Star clicks his tongue at me, rolling his eyes. "So you're freaking out over something that's not even happening?"

"You don't get it," I sigh.

"Fine, then, does Maka get it? What did she say when you talked to her?"

"I, uh, well…"

"You didn't speak to her first?" Kid looks incredulous as if he knows the social intricacies of relationships like the back of his hand.

"Today I was supposed to figure it out _by myself_ and then talk to her but you dummies had to invite yourself over. So now you're part of my figuring." Regardless of this sounding like a fine explanation to me, both of them are staring at me like I'm the idiot in the room.

"Well, you love her or whatever, so just tell her that and I'm sure she won't go anywhere. Girls love that shit." Black Star seemed to be losing interest, examining his nails and then punctuating his comment with a yawn.

"I hate to say I agree, but…" Kid shrugged.

"I love her." Those were the weirdest words in the world. It wasn't a lot, but I'd said them to my mom, my dad, my brother, whatever, but never to someone who didn't have something to do with raising me. And even then it was sparingly, like it was a Christmas or Easter kind of word, for special occasions only. Was that just some simple key to all this shit in my brain? "I love Maka." I tried it again, turning the words. Yeah, OK, it felt a little better, like burping out a bunch of emotional gas.

Black Star huffs exasperatedly, going back to the game and restarting. "Yeah, dummy, like everyone knows."

I was feeling too good to give in to the urge to pop him one for that. I left my controller in my lap, but Kid picked up and kept the maylay going. I'm leaning back, actually feeling the sleep starting to tug at me, some kind of relief from talking to these guys setting me free.

Kid gives me another look, probably seeing I'm about to fade out, and smiles. "If it's any help, I think she feels the same way. You can't see it, but her soul, it's like she left some of it with you, like a spark to keep you warm while she was away."

"Yeah, that's something Maka would do." I rest my hand on my chest and it's almost like I can feel it there, that warmth, maybe from her or maybe my own heart just knowing that there's love there. It's new, it's different, it's still fucking scary and I'm not sure that I can handle myself and my worry for it, but at least now I know it's there. I want her to know it's there. I'm drifting off now, regardless of the coffee, and it almost feels good. The sun, the boys cursing under their breaths, the spark Maka left behind. It all feels good.

* * *

I come home to probably the weirdest sight yet. Black Star and Soul passed out on the couch while Kid dawdles at a game that was obviously meant to be multiplayer. I can't even raise an eyebrow before Kid is excusing himself and dragging a half-asleep Black Star out of the apartment. Today has been too strange, and I know it's all Soul's doing, but I can't necessarily figure out why.

Don't get me wrong, being _out with the girls_ was great, most of the day at the spa, some drinking, some eating, but mostly shop-talk of how to deal with those knuckleheads. I tried to dance around the subject of having sex, but with Liz and Pattie there's never any secrecy and they'll practically start water torture if you aren't forthcoming. Tsubaki was gentle with her questions, but you could tell she wanted to know herself. But none of them were any help with the question: _What's eating Soul?_

I sit next to him on the couch, taking one last moment to look at his sleeping face, trying to figure out what Soul I'll get when he wakes up. He was so obviously nervous this morning, probably mostly because he had planned this outing behind my back. I really can't believe he would think I wouldn't realize it, so it had to be important to have me gone. But it was also… I don't know, like middle-school nervous. Like he was trying to ask me out for the first time. He just seemed all over the place; even his energy was weird.

Maybe he didn't like the sex, a thought that definitely stung as it drifted around my head. Was he regretting things? Wanting to change things? I felt like I left a piece of myself with him today, hoping that it would somehow mend whatever had broken the night before but who knows. I reached my hand out and smooth some of the hair from his face.

Those red orbs are slow to open, but they do, and he smiles, "Welcome home."

My own worry spurs my words, "I missed you today."

"Me, too." He pushes himself into me, sprawling me back on the couch, his head resting on my chest so I couldn't see his face.

He murmurs something, and I'm sure he's said, _I love boobs_ and I almost laugh. He must still be half asleep, so tired from what? Did he not sleep last night? Am I a bad co-sleeper? "You seem awful sleepy today."

His head pops up, turning to me with his eyebrows knitted. "That's it?"

"What?" I shrugged, thinking maybe he was half-dreaming.

"Did you hear me?"

"You mean when you said, 'I love boobs'? I didn't think that required an answer."

He blinks a few times and then breaks into a fit of laughter, practically having to clear tears from his eyes. "Maka," he struggles through a few more laughs before finally taking a deep breath. "I said, 'I love you.'"

"Oh," I could feel the color warming my cheeks. "I love you, too, Soul." It wasn't hard to say, not even really embarrassing, and maybe overdue. It didn't seem like there was a time when I didn't love him in some way.

"You're sure?"

"Is this what last night was about?"

Soul looks away, a long sigh lingering over his lips and onto my skin. It feels warm and lonely all at the same time. "I've never, ever had these feelings before. I almost… I felt like I didn't know what they were, or how to control them. I love you, but with that comes a fear that it's just me. That no matter how strong it is for me, it won't be the same for you."

I slide my fingers through his hair, loving the way he leans into my touch. "How do we get through every fight? How do you always stay positive then?"

"Huh?" He's almost half lost in my touch and the sleepiness.

"You're always the one telling me we're going to win. You never seem to think anyone's going to beat us in battle, right? How do you do that?"

"Because it's us. Because we're fighting together."

I sink a little underneath him and he obliges, allowing me a better angle to plant my lips against his, trying to make my words sink in. "So that's it, Soul. It's us, together. Don't think about losing because it's not just you in this. I'm here, too."

"Good." He puts his hand in my hair so he could pull me forward and kissed me like he did the first time, with that urgency and almost something to prove. That kiss almost makes me forgive him for telling Black Star about the 'I love boobs' thing which is now a constant, over-played, tired joke between those two assholes.


	5. Year 2

Here it is, finally. Please check out my other Maka x Soul fic "Jealousy" if you need more since I'm splitting time between the two!

* * *

Nothing, let me repeat, _nothing_ good can come from Stein chatting up Maka for more than a few minutes. Let me clarify: talking shop is one thing, but when Maka and Stein are chatting like friends in a beer commercial we've fallen into the danger zone. But that's where I find Maka as I try to locate her at DWMA after teaching an adjunct class. I knew her coming back to this place part-time would be a hassle, but I never imagined it would include this.

"You sure Friday is OK?" Stein's leaning against the wall, that creepy yet endearing smile on his face.

"Absolutely. We'll see you then!" Maka's shining smile usually brings a world of comfort, but at this point I'm concerned. She turns away from Stein and finally looks my way, waving enthusiastically.

"What was that about?" I can't seem to stop myself from hugging her to me even though there are brats watching all around and I know she technically doesn't like it, trying to keep up the teacher look.

Maka allows it, for now, her hands planted firmly on my chest and that grin on her face. "We're going to do Marie and Stein a favor."

"Oh, no." She doesn't even have to continue. Anyone still in the area of DWMA knows the favor, dreads the favor, actively tries to get out of the favor: babysit the Stein brood, Maggy and Ben. But there's Maka, running headfirst into the task like Maggy isn't Stein 2.0 and will try to remove one of our kidneys. Ben's alright, but he's still an infant, so his trouble is limited to what he can do in a diaper.

"Trust me, it'll be fine," she punctuates the promise with the quickest kiss on my lips. That's the full explanation I get before Maka skips off, calling over her shoulder about class and seeing me for dinner.

The things I do for love.

* * *

I was afraid I would have to drag Soul by his ear all the way to Marie and Steins, but he seemed to accept his fate by Friday morning. It's an easy assumption that any child of Stein's is going to be, well, _difficult_, but Maggy is still Marie's daughter, too, and I swear there are some moments when that side of the genetics wins. I also can't help but admit that I think I'm secretly testing it out. The future has always been a weird thing for me, and before Soul, I was kind of short-sighted.

But I can't really think about all that as Stein's opening the door and little Maggy is peeking behind his coat. "Soul, Maka, thanks for coming." I can't get my eyes off of Maggy, since she's too freakin' cute, with Stein's barely green eyes but Marie's blond hair that waves down to her shoulders. Stein tries to detach her, moving her more into our view, "Maggy, what do you say?"

Soul crouches down almost immediately, extending a hand to her. There's a moment of hesitation before she takes his hand, letting go of Stein's leg. "Do you want to dissect something?"

Marie audibly groans in the background but a little pride is shining through from behind Stein's glasses. "Maybe a _hello_ first, Maggy."

"Uh, maybe later, kiddo." Soul's hand is shaky but he still grasps hers, sending a look back at me that definitely translates to _if this kid steals an organ I'll never forgive you_.

Marie finally pops into view, Ben balancing on her hip. For being a year old, he still has that adorable baby chubbiness but he looks just like Stein, down to the greyish white hair. I know Marie is hoping it's just a light blond, but I'm sorry to tell her that boy is a total copy of her lifemate. "Maka, thanks so much for doing this!" She hands Ben off to me and turns to Soul. "And I don't know how you got dragged into this, but thank you, too."

"Don't worry, they're not too much of a handful." Stein is using his _trying to look human_ smile.

"I can't make you any promises," Marie sighs. "Maggy already ate, but Ben will want a bottle around 7. Ben in bed by 8, Maggy by 9. Everything else is up to you guys."

"Mom," Maggy elongates the _o _ as if her life depends on it.

"OK, OK, 10 for Maggy. But we should be home by then, I swear." Marie turns to Stein, her arms wrapping around his waist. "Can we have our date now, please?"

"Of course, Marie." And for all the weirdness that is Stein, you can see it in his face, his eyes, the way he is, or at least is trying to be, a different man for his family. That particular face is really only for Marie to see as he looks down at her and almost hovers in for a kiss before clearing his throat, looking back at the two of us. "We'll be off, then."

"Have a good night!" I chime as the two of them squeeze past us, Ben starting to give a little sniffle as his mommy gets out the door.

"Take care," Soul manages through a sigh. As the door closes behind the two lovebirds, Soul turns to me. "I call this one," he raises his and Maggy's enclosed hands like the ref at a boxing match.

"Uh, sure?" I can't stop the giggles. "What, Soul, can't deal with a baby? He doesn't drool more than you do." I sweep Ben in his direction, getting a little giggle from the baby but a hard jump from the man.

"Babies are fine," which is a downright lie from the sickly grin he's trying to produce, "But I want to do some cool stuff with Mags. Big kid stuff."

"Like a dissection?" Maggy offers again.

"Uh, like," Soul's face is searching, "Cupcakes. Let's make cupcakes."

"Cupcakes?" Every six-year-old's dream, but the science side of the Maggy-mind doesn't seem convinced.

"Yeah, we have to measure perfect, find the right temperature, make the right mix of flavors. Just not in test tubes, OK?" Soul is continuing his convincing as he moves Maggy towards the kitchen, throwing one last smile over his shoulder at me before disappearing.

While I'm OK with Soul cooking, but maybe adding a six-year-old is a little dangerous, but for now, until I start to smell smoke, I'll let him try to do his thing. It's actually… well, for a second it was making my stomach flip and that heat come to my cheeks, like our first real kiss. Maybe this is another step.

Ben gurgles and starts a trail of unintelligible speech, throwing in some mamas and dadas for good measure. "Oh, yeah?" I try to keep up my end of the conversation as I bring him to the rug, setting him down and hunting in the box for what looks like the best toys. As I sit with him, letting the armful of toys fall in front of us, Ben crawls around, finding access to my lap and plopping himself there, his tiny head resting against my chest. I can't stop myself from planting a soft kiss on the top of his head.

"Hey, Maka," Soul pops his head in from the hallway, catching me mid-kiss.

"Yeah?"

But he's speechless for a moment, only offering me a few blinks as if his brain has flatlined. He finally jumpstarts, but his voice is softer, "Do you think it's OK to use the last of the eggs?"

"I think Marie will find it a fair trade for cupcakes. Worst case I'll grab some more after this guy goes to bed." I give Ben another cuddle, delighting in the tiny laugh I get in return.

"OK, yeah." Soul takes one more second to stare at me like there's more for him to say but instead disappears again.

"Well, that was weird, huh, Ben?" Ben doesn't give me much in reply besides blowing a raspberry. Playtime is serious with Ben, turning from toys to exploration as he lets me walk him around the house. I can smell what's happening in the kitchen, but luckily it smells more like chocolate than a five-alarm fire. Ben tried to get us a peek in the kitchen, but as soon as our heads cleared the entrance, we got a very sassy reprimand from Maggy, with little to no support from MasterChef Soul.

Instead, Ben and I settled back into the living room, perusing the selection of books. Ben lasted for a good fifteen minutes until the fussing started, which was just on time to remind me that the clock had hit 7. "It looks like Maggy and Soul will have to give up the kitchen for just a second," I cooed to Ben as I carried him back to the kitchen. Both Soul and Maggy were relaxing, their hard work already in the oven.

"We told you to wait!" Maggy cawed from her perch on the center island.

"Sorry, Ben's tummy says different." I walked to the fridge and saw the line of bottles, grabbing one. "Here you go, Ben!" I tried to coax the bottle to his mouth but he put a firm hand out, giving a cry.

"It's too cold," Maggy rolled her eyes as if I had said 1+1=4. "It needs the warmer." Maggy jumped down, reaching for the bottle from me. I obliged and she moved over to the stool she'd been using to help come level with Soul and pushed it to the other side of the counter. Soul plucked the bottle from her hand as Maggy climbed to the counter. "Give me," she exclaimed when she got to the seat.

"Mags, we have to work on your people skills." Soul handed her the bottle and moved to steady her stool as Maggy leaned over and put the bottle in a little contraption. Okay, so I was supposed to know there's such a thing as a bottle warmer? Just that little pod thing on the counter?

"Thank you, Soul." But it was barely a serious thank you, having added a tongue sticking out at the end.

"OK, close enough," Soul tousled her hair. He held the stool as she moved back to the ground and then came to me, plucking Ben out of my arms. "Do me a favor and help Mags with a bath. I think she has batter behind her ears."

"You got Ben?"

"How hard can a bottle be?" Soul shrugged.

I hoped that wasn't a jinx as I brushed past him to grab Maggy's waiting hand. She led me to the bathroom and started up the necessities. I felt a little silly and almost completely unnecessary, but better to have someone make sure the kid doesn't drown, right? Maggy finally acquiesced to help when it came to shampooing, a completely unique experience since I had never done this to someone other than myself. I made sure to scoop the suds away from Maggy's eyes, letting her control the rinse. I knew this was just a speck in the macrocosm of parenthood, but it just didn't seem burdensome and when Maggy smiled at laughed at my addition of a bathtime song, I felt an elation that had never gripped my heart before.

With Maggy clean and adorned in PJs, we made our way back into the kitchen. A wall of sweet aroma smacked us in the face upon entry, Soul had just finished placing the cupcakes on cooling racks while Ben bounces away in one of those baby bouncers a safe distance from the oven. "Soul, is it time?" Maggy pulled on his shirt, trying to get on her tiptoes for a closer look at the golden treats.

"Well, can't put on the icing until they're cool, but if you'll eat one icing-less I can give it to you in five minutes. Deal?"

Maggy gave his shirt another tug. "Icing on the side?"

"Mags, you drive a hard bargain. Maybe just a little - it is pretty close to bedtime."

Her eyes turn desperately to me. "Maka!" elongating the _a_ just like the trick that worked on Marie.

I throw up my hands in defeat. "What Soul says goes, little lady."

There are a solid five minutes of pouting, Maggy definitely waiting for one of us to crack. Soul just chuckles between checking the coolness, finding just the right cupcake. He did as promised, giving her a plate with the cupcake and a small smear of icing. Before either an argument or a thank you, I pick Ben up out of the jumper, noticing both his eye rubbing and the clock ticking just past 8. "Bedtime," I mouth to Soul who nods, taking his seat next to Maggy at the table as I slip into the hallway and make my way to Ben's bedroom.

As if all the stars aligned, Ben doesn't fight the inevitable and only requires about ten minutes of rocking before his babbling trailed off into soft snoozes. It is a much harder task to lay him down in the crib without disturbing his tenuous grip on sleep. I have to start over at least twice before I can get his head to the mattress without those little green eyes opening to stare at me. I allow myself a few minutes to sit in the rocker watching him slumber while giving a little congratulations for making it through the night. Really, it felt like buying trouble because Maggy was still awake, but Soul already called that, so…

I make my way back to the kitchen, poking my head in, "Hey, I think I'll go get those eggs."

"And leave me by myself?" Soul squeaks through a mouthful of the cupcake.

"Ben's asleep. Maggy will be good, right?" Maggy nods before taking another bite. "See? You're fine."

Soul narrows his eyebrows, those red eyes trying to send me a stabbing mental message.

A message I choose not to receive as I duck back into the hallway, grabbing my bag, and making my way out to the street. I knew it would only take a maximum of thirty minutes, which was well before Maggy's bedtime, and Soul could always bribe her with another cupcake if he was smart. And it is an unexciting trip, walking down to the corner store, choosing from a pretty small selection of eggs, paying, and making that just long enough walk back. There are no police or fire departments active outside the house when I return, so I assume Soul had kept Maggy under control, or she made sure to knock him out before she did anything.

The last thought spurs my feet a little faster, but none of the mental pictures prepare me for what I see when I open the door. I have to put a hand over my mouth to suppress what sounds like a half-squeal-half-giggle as I find both of them slack-jawed on the couch, Maggy sprawled on Soul's lap with a book dangling towards the floor. As quietly as possible, I sneak past them, depositing the eggs in the fridge and taking a moment to take a peek at Ben, who is still calmly asleep in his crib. With all that taken care of, I come back to Soul who is still blacked out, Maggy resting comfortably against his chest. It's almost too precious to interrupt, but as I reach for the book to keep it from falling, I see Soul's eyes finally flutter open.

"Damn," Soul whispers, his unencumbered hand coming to his face.

"Language," I whisper, bringing my lips to his cheek.

"Ha. Ha." His voice is scratchy as if he was asleep for hours. Carefully, he maneuvers his free hand under Maggy's delicate little legs. "Bedtime."

I let my hand drift down his arm. "Need help?"

"I'm good." Soul lifts himself and Maggy out of the seat, waiting for a moment to see if she stirs, but Maggy's far gone, even before her 10 PM bedtime. Soul makes his way across the room, disappearing into the hallway.

Regardless of his answer, I wait a minute before following him. He's in the bedroom by the time I get to the hallway, and I stop myself right outside the doorway.

Soul has her resting on his shoulder now, using his free hand to pull back the sheets. As he places her down, I can hear her little voice whispering, still half asleep, to him. "Is it really bedtime?"

"Yeah, Mags." He pulls the blanket up to her chin and he runs his hands along the sides, tucking her in tight.

"Daddy doesn't do that."

Soul gives a soft laugh, "What does Daddy do?"

"After book, it's Bear and a kiss."

"Ah," Soul looks around the room, finally finding the bear he's looking for, and, luckily for me, not catching sight of me in the doorway in the process. "Bear?"

"Yup," Maggy can barely contain a yawn, her eyes already halfway back to closed.

"Well, Mags, we just met, so a kiss seems a little weird." Soul sits next to her on the bed, taking one more minute to untuck her just a little. "Will you settle for a song?"

"Yeah," Maggy's as exuberant as a half-asleep six-year-old can be.

I can see his mind flipping through possibilities, and he settles after just a moment. I'm just as excited as Maggy as Soul opens his mouth, starting off that classic line, "_I'll be seeing you, In all the old familiar places…_" I think he's trying to stick more to the Billie Holiday than the Sinatra or Crosby version, and while he certainly isn't Billie, he keeps the rhythm true and hits all of the notes with a deep throatiness. He gets most of the way through before standing, taking a few delicate steps back but still crooning to keep Maggy out cold. His back is almost to me when he finally stops singing.

"Soul," I try my best to keep it at the softest whisper, but he still jumps.

He turns slowly, his hands coming to my hips to push me back out of the doorway and further into the hallway. "How long were you watching?"

"Long enough," I add a playful wink.

"Kitchen. Now." He releases me only to give a little extra push after I turn and start the walk as commanded. As soon as we're back to the confectionaries, he huffs, pointing a finger at me. "You owe me for tonight."

"Fair," I shrug. "Name your price."

"First, _you_ frost the cupcakes." He moves to the countertop, picking up the bowl of icing and something that looks like a spatula.

"Okay, they'll be terrible, though."

He looks at his little cupcake masterpieces and then back at the icing. "Fine. I'll do it, but you have to watch." The icing goes back on the counter and suddenly he's against me, his hands coming to my waist again to lift and sit me on the island. "The rest I decide later when we're home." His face disappears to the crick of my neck and I can feel feathered kisses against my collarbone.

"Soul," it's a breathless admonishment.

"Yeah, I know," he growls against my skin before detaching, going back to his cupcakes. I have to admit I would prefer he finished what he started there, but it was still a little too risque for me to be having that kind of fun at someone else's house. He's just as quiet as he's precisely applying frosting and I can guess he's probably feeling something along the same line but, then again, Soul is always surprising. "Hey, Maka?"

"Yeah?"

"I…" He puts the cupcake down for a second as if this thought takes all this concentration. "I never asked you before, but is this kind of stuff the stuff you want?"

"What kind of stuff?"

Red creeps on his cheeks and he tries to go back to work on the cupcake at hand. "Like marriage and kids."

"Oh," I try to laugh but it comes out as a croak. "I'm 19 and…"

He eyebrows crease in and I know that wasn't the answer he wanted. "Wasn't your dad 18 when you were born?"

"OK, point taken," I jump down from the spot he left me to come behind him, my arms wrapping around his waist. "I guess the better answer is I never really thought about it before. I thought I'd still be working on making you a death scythe. I also never thought _this_ would happen."

"Yeah," he pauses to put a hand over one of mine. "But are you thinking about it now?"

"Yes," I whisper into his back as if I'm trying to hide the words there.

"Are you," he takes a huge breath, his hand gripping at mine. "Are you thinking about it with _me_?"

"We've… been together for a year, right? But, really, we've been a team for way longer than that." I want him to turn around and hold me but he seems rigidly frozen in place, holding his breath. "So, yes, Soul, I could see it happening with you."

I can feel his diaphragm collapse with the flood of air. "That means I passed your little test tonight?" I can't even start a protest before he squeezes my hand again, silencing me. "I eventually kind of ended up feeling the same way this morning, like we could have a trial run."

"Does that mean…?"

Soul's laugh trembles against my hand as he lets go of me, the anxiety of the moment seeming to have drifted away. "Yeah, Maka, I think we could do this." He finally turns in my arms, his hand coming gently to my throat, lifting my lips towards his. "It's crazy, but when I saw you with Ben when you kissed his head like that, it really clicked." There was something behind his kiss, the feathering softness that stole anything I could say right out of my mouth. "We can wait, but I had to know."

"We will wait," I can barely sound demanding, but I'm hoping he gets the picture.

"Absolutely," Soul leans back, that brilliant smile making my knees feel weaker. "I love you."

"I love you." I want to lean into him again but I hear the door unlock with a heavy thud and instead jump back as if my dad's caught us. We both laugh for a moment before Soul turns back to the cupcakes and I make my way to greet Marie and Stein.

When I reach them in the hallway, both are looking around and Marie grasps my hand, "Are they both asleep?"

"Soul just put Maggy down early, and Ben went to bed on time." Marie is exchanging glances with Stein, who simply wanders towards the kids' bedrooms.

"And everything went OK?" Marie smiles hesitantly.

"Yeah, of course! Soul and Maggy even made cupcakes. Soul's finishing them up now."

"Cupcakes?" Marie looked at me as if that word was not part of her vocabulary.

"It was his alternative to dissection."

"Sure, of course." Marie wonders past me, her hand still in mine and pulls me back into the kitchen.

"Hey, Marie." Soul is wiping off the countertop, the freshly iced cupcakes moved to the island.

"Soul, how did you…?"

"It took a lot of convincing, but Mags went along with it," Soul shrugged.

"OK." Marie continued to drag me just long enough to get to the cupcakes. She let me go, taking one and having a bite. "So, are you free next Friday?"


	6. Year 2 (Episode 2)

Sorry this took so long! Hope you enjoy it. I also ended up changing the tense since I really wasn't enjoying working in present. Feel free to tell me whether it works or not.

* * *

_I-love-yous_ seemed to come from me when Soul did something cute, when he looked my way, when I stared at him too long, and just about any second of the day when the whim took me. Soul holds onto his words, using them when he'd clearing blood from my brow, when he'd picking me up from an enemy hard hit, and when he gave me that last, long kiss when he was spent on top of me. He'd never let one of mine go without responding, but to get them from him sometimes seems like a gift each time.

But today, a year and a half after the first _I-love-yous_, as I'm grabbing my bag to leave for a maximum of thirty minutes just for groceries, he stopped me by grabbing my elbow and looked at me, almost desperate, before punctuating each of the words, "Maka, I love you."

Was I not informed he was trying out for a soap opera? "I love you, too." I paused because he still did not release my elbow. "I'm just going for groceries, alright?"

Soul took a deep kiss as payment before finally releasing my arm. At that point, I wasn't even sure I should leave but he offered me one of those grins. "Yeah, take your time."

"Ok…" I knew I should make this quick, mostly because of that impromptu declaration, but how much trouble could he really get into on his own? Right? I tried to focus on my shopping list instead, walking the aisles matching my paper to the shelves. It was hard to concentrate, and my mind kept drifting to Soul with that tight grip. I barely got the list finished before I booked it home, my shopping trip actually taking more time than I had expected thanks to all the spacing out and backtracking I had to do throughout the store.

I started up the stairs and the sound started to trickle in from the distance. First, it just sounded like voices, as if Soul had left the TV on too loud but as I got closer, I realized one of those voices _was_ Soul. The other instantly sent my eyebrows into knots, especially because the tone wasn't all that loving. I was stomping at this point and couldn't stop myself from practically throwing open the door.

Soul and Spirit were sitting across from each other, one in the armchair, the other on the couch, both now miraculously quiet, but I could see the rage tick in my dad's eye and the tone of Soul's face matched his eyes, the color creeping up from his neck. Neither bothered to look at me, just locked in a staring contest. I tentatively placed the groceries down on the counter before turning to the two. "Um, hello?"

Spirit was up first, his hand grasping at my arm. "Tell me you didn't say yes!"

"Say yes?" I couldn't stop blinking and it turned the scene into stop motion.

Spirit pulled me in, "Did you accept his proposal?"

"You idiot!" Soul howled.

"Proposal?" But the information was starting to connect in my head and my eyes move from my father to Soul, seeing the absolute agony on his face as the realization spread across mine. "You mean get married?"

"You idiot!" Soul was grabbing Spirit by the back of the collar.

"Are you pregnant?" He turned his stabbing glare towards Soul, "Is she pregnant?"

"What?" Soul was temporarily repelled from my dad, looking back at me again. "Are you?"

"No, you idiots!" I needed a step back, I needed air, but Spirit was on a roll.

"But you had to ask her! You're sleeping together? You deflowered my daughter?"

With his murderous intentions turned toward Soul, I took the opportunity to plant a firm chop to his head, sending him sprawling. "That's none of your business!"

"Maka, you're too young…" he gurgled into the floor, turning into a blubbering mass.

I crouched down, contemplating smooshing his face further into the floor but gave in to the nicer side of me with a sigh. "I'm nineteen, papa."

"And that's young, Maka."

"You and Mom-"

"And you see how that turned out," Spirit moaned.

Okay, so I started rethinking and was about to commence the continuous smashing of Spirit's face into the floor when Soul finally awoke from the pregnancy scare and pulled me off instead, threatening his own violence. "And whose fault was that one, old man? You know I'd never treat Maka like that so I don't know why you won't just consent!"

"Soul…" It was romantic what he was trying to do, but it was a clusterfuck and just needs to be over. "Papa, I think it's time you go." I did my best to keep Soul from murdering my father while coaxing the other one to slither out the door, hearing a lot of griping from both parties in the process. I finally got the door slammed behind Spirit, every inch of my mind screaming for silence.

"Maka-"

"Nope!" I pushed him towards the couch. "You're going to sit down and shut up for a while. I'm going to cook and think and if you even once try to interrupt me you will regret it." I didn't bother with a response or even a look before my back was to him, getting the groceries unpacked. His eyes were drilling into the back of my neck but, luckily for him, all I could hear was his endless fidgeting on the couch which I suppose didn't count as an interruption. By the time I had the rice started and the vegetables sliced, my brain was no longer stuck on murder. I finally turned to look at him, seeing him practically melting into the couch, his face slack and terrorized.

He shot up to a sitting position, "Can I - Oh, fuck, I'm sorry, Maka, please tell me you're ready to talk."

I walked to the couch and slowly brought myself to sit next to him, a sigh escaping as I relaxed back. "What in the world made you think that talking to papa was going to be a good idea?"

"Isn't that what people do when you're going to…"

"Say it, Soul, I feel like it should be part of the punishment," I smirked.

"He fucking ruined it anyway," Soul grumbled. "Isn't that what a guy's supposed to do when he's going to ask a girl to marry him?"

"Normally, yes, you ask or at least talk to the family first." I placed my hand in his before using the other to rub my brow. "But normally. That's for _normal_ people. Papa is anything but normal. You had to have guessed that he'd…" Implode? Explode? Go berserk? There were too many options for a description.

His clutched my hand in his like I was giving him a lifeline. "Yeah, freak out for sure. I guess I just was hoping this would be the one time…"

"And you're lucky he only asked two embarrassing questions." I could actually laugh at this point and I let myself put my head on his shoulder, his arm instantly wrapping around my shoulders to squeeze me closer.

"And I took the bait." Soul kissed my forehead and let out a rough laugh. "Totally uncool of me."

"I think I can overlook it this time."

His hand flexed against my shoulder and he cleared his throat. "But the marrying thing, Maka…"

"You have my permission to ask." I lifted my head so I can look in those crimson eyes. "But maybe not just this minute? I'm no princess, but I think I'd like something a little more fancy than right after my dad yells about my deflowering."

Soul smirked, taking a moment to press his lips against mine, his hand drifting along my neck and making me start to forget the ridiculousness of the day. "Seems like a tall order, but I'll try."

* * *

_Oh fuck_ was a phrase that I had heard many times in Soul's company, having a wide range of uses such as:

"Oh, fuck!" as he dodged some attack he definitely wasn't ready for.

"Oh, fuck," as he slurped the last of a ramen bowl that was far too large for his stomach to contain.

"Oh, _fuck_!" as he forgot his keys and locked himself out of the apartment for the fiftieth time.

Or, my personal favorite: "Oh, fuck!" as he cums, which has been more often and with more intensity since that engagement discussion with my dad. And, no, I haven't really figured out why that's what's spurring him to more sex and, somehow, more enjoyment for him.

But this _oh, fuck_ seemed misplaced. It wasn't when he actually finished since Soul had make sure to give me his signature ending, the kiss and I-love-you, but only as he slid out of me, and as I felt the slow crawl of liquid between my legs.

"Oh, fuck." It sounded weak and lifeless next to the others.

"What?" My voice almost cracked since this was one of those situations where you never wanted this version of that phrase.

"It broke!"

"Me?" Because the liquid could only translate to blood, so I was definitely bleeding, definitely dying, but when I reached my hand down, cupping at myself to see what I could hold in the viscosity wasn't right, something I definitely knew because I'd had lots of experience with my own blood before. I pulled my fingers away and saw the milky white, not the signature red.

"The condom, it broke," he muttered as he moved from the bed, wide gait walking to the bathroom. "I'm getting a towel."

"Yeah," my voice fluttered. I wondered if this had sunk in for him yet. I knew I was apt to panic, hence why Soul was the perfect partner being the antithesis, but he seemed way too nonchalant for this kind of accident.

"Here." He put the towel by my arm and I couldn't do more than just press it there, my thoughts almost immobilizing me.

I brought my butt to my feet, sitting up to look at him. "Soul, if it broke…"

"I must have been going too hard, I'm sorry, Maka," he shrugged with a grin on his face.

"No, that's fine, but the condoms, that was all we were using, Soul. Remember?"

"Oh," he elongated the vowel and as he continued his voice seemed to drop, his hand reaching out for my arm. "But don't panic, Maka. There's stuff for that. A just in case, right? Or, we could, uh…" The original cool guy that started that sentence started to unravel.

"We could what?"

Soul took a deep breath, moving to take both of my hands in his. "What if we left this one to chance?"

"What?" The analytical side of me was drowning, but the look on his face seemed so sure like this was the best-case scenario.

"The chances aren't one hundred percent," he rubbed his thumbs over my knuckles, "But if it happened, would it be… would it be so bad? I know it's totally not planned, and you're body is your body and I'm not about to put my foot down."

"I…" What _did_ I want? I couldn't even begin to fathom the situation in front of us, let alone the man in front of me. "How are you so calm?"

"Well, the dude can always be a little calmer since like I said, it's your body," he touched my stomach and a chill ran down my spine. "But remember when I saw you with Ben? It clicked, Maka, that feeling that you were it and that could be our baby." Soul pulled back his hands, rubbing them along his thighs. "But it's not just me. You have to be into it, too, and I don't want you to think I'm trying to sway you one way or another. And damn, I must sound _crazy_ right now."

In a daze, I stood up and finish cleaning myself off, leaving the conversation in that room to go to the bathroom. I knew I wasn't exactly treating Soul very well at that moment, but I still closed myself in, locking the door, and ran the sink. The water was cold and I splashed it against my face, trying to evoke some kind of thought other than the base panic. But was that it? If I'm panicking, doesn't that mean I don't want it? Or is it just a big step and every natural human being would be terrified at that initial moment?

I put extra time into the regular post-sex clean up routine. It doesn't necessarily feel dirty, but it feels weird, and I contemplated taking a shower, but couldn't, still too focused on my thoughts. His footsteps were outside of the door and I knew he was just being good, being patient, letting me get it together. And just as I was thinking that he slid my phone under the door. I picked it up, hearing his body thump against the wall outside the bathroom. "You Google post-sex contraception and I'll Google the pregnancy chances," he calls through the not so thick walls separating us.

I do as I'm told. "Most effective up to 72 hours after sex," my voice wavers. A momentary thought washes over me that I want to call my mom, but would she even be available?

"Ugh, I should have given you this one. I'm finding jackshit." I can hear his frustration even through the door. "What other information do you need? Because you definitely can't lock yourself in the bathroom much longer. I have to pee."

I unlocked the door, trying to produce a laugh for him. Soul was sitting there in his boxers, holding up my t-shirt and panties to me. I slipped each on then slid down the wall, landing hard on my ass next to him. He looked at me, again waiting patiently. "Would I be a good mom?"

"I mean, if you can keep Black Star alive on a team, I think you can handle a baby," Soul shrugged. I cracked a smile, but not much more. "Hey, you're great, Maka. And like I said, if it's this scary, we don't have to do it now. It was just an idea, maybe a stupid, half-assed idea, so don't stress."

"72 hours, OK?" I leaned into him, almost losing my breath as he hugged me a little more vigorously than usual.

"Take your time. No matter what, I love you, though, alright? We're doing this together no matter what."


	7. Year 2 (Episode 3)

Quick update! School has now started, so updating may be fewer and far between. I apologize in advance.

* * *

Of course, the best person to ask would probably have been my mother, since I couldn't imagine the situation for her and my dad was much different. No one had ever confirmed it, but my best guess had always been that I was probably a bit of an _oops_. But mom had been flakey since the divorce, distant while dad had been smothering, and the last person to talk to about this was Spirit. Instead, I opted for a middle ground: perhaps someone who had been in my shoes, but also someone with the right amount of maternal instinct.

I worried about going to Marie's house, but she assured me that Stein had taken Maggy out and that it would just be girl talk. I had been agonizing over each hour, and we were at fourteen by the time Marie could meet, a number so far yet so close to seventy two. It had also been almost a fight to keep Soul at home, and I worried that maybe I had even hurt him by insinuating I needed to talk to someone else other than him.

"Maka!" Marie didn't even let me get through the door before strangling me with a hug. I could only assume my voice over the phone had given me away and her maternal instincts were kicking in. She pulled me into the house, gave me another squeeze, and then herded me to the living room. I found Ben there, arms outstretched waiting for his own greeting.

"Hey, Ben," I cooed, giving into his grabbing little arms. It felt calming and I almost regretted it as Marie took him from me like a burden.

"I hope you don't mind Benny being around. Not like he can repeat any sensitive information. Well, not in full sentences anyway," Marie shrugged, letting the squirming Ben back on to the floor.

"No, Ben is fine." To my surprise he zoomed back to me, little hands grabbing at my legs until I pulled him back into my lap, his interest falling immediately to my hair. "I'm just, well, I wanted to talk to you about, well, it's kind of personal, Marie, and I don't want to…"

"Oh," Marie blinked, "I'm glad you wanted to come to me, Maka. Don't worry about the personal part, it's just us here."

"I guess it's about you and Stein." I chew on my lip, pausing to inhale through my nose.

"Relationship advice?" Marie seemed smitten at the idea, her hands coming up to her cheek.

"Kind of." There seemed to be no way to start this conversation in a way that didn't seem like prying, but honestly, wasn't that what I was here to do? To know the history and maybe learn from it? "How did you… I guess, how did you and Stein know it was the right time? I mean, for Maggy."

"Oh, Maka," but Marie seemed to stop herself, taking a deep breath, running an absent hand through her hair. "Don't ever repeat this, but Maggy wasn't planned. She just kind of happened. And Stein and I, well… I love him. By then, he was thankfully sure he loved me, too. So we just kind of went with that?" Marie shrugged, laughing at herself. "I have to admit, times were a little different. We were all pretty sure we were going to die, you know? Waiting to do things didn't seem plausible."

I swallowed, overthinking about what seemed like conflicting information to me.

"But, Benny boy was totally different." Marie moved to the seat next to me, once against prying Ben from my lap, her hand smoothing his grey hair from his forehead. "He was a long, hard discussion between the two of us. I secretly thought Stein was just after a second guinea pig, just in case Maggy shaped up to be a dud experimentally."

"You mean Stein wanted another baby and you weren't sure?" I was still surprised, even though her explanation seemed pretty spot-on for Stein.

"Hey, having a baby is a lot of work," Marie sighed. "My body will never be the same! And practically no fun for a whole nine months. You can't even have soft cheese!" Marie stood Ben up, his legs wobbling for traction on her knees. "And I worried about the same thing with both - how was this going to change _us_? Stein and I were barely even a couple before Maggy made three. I mean, we had history, but I was worried if that gave us enough of a foundation."

"But what makes enough of a foundation?" I murmured.

"I think it goes without saying that it's different for each couple." Marie let Ben slip between her legs, pretending to lock him there, Ben laughing at the playful prison. I felt her hand drift to mine, giving it a squeeze, "But it's OK to be scared, Maka. It's OK to think about it, too."

My mouth instantly felt dry, sure she'd pulled some kind of BJ level trick to see straight to my core. It suddenly shot through me that I wanted Soul here, I wanted his explanations and his comforts and his coolness in the face of Marie's words. "I'm not, well, I could-"

"Don't worry about the specifics right now." Her hand pulsated in mine again as she wiggled her legs, causing more laughter from Ben. "But if you need to stay here for a while, or just need to talk again, the door is always open." She took her hand from mine and moved them to Ben, helping him stand as she did. "But I feel like right now what we might need is ice cream."

"Yeah," I let a real laugh breathe across my lips.

"You take Ben, and I will come back with two bowls." Marie dropped Ben's hands on my leg as she bustled past. Ben seemed to insist I give up my lap space and I let him, getting a it's-getting-close-to-nap-time cuddle, his head lolling against my shoulder as his fingers played in my hair. Marie reemerged, two heaping bowls in her hands. "Uh-oh, Benny, you can't possibly be sleepy already." Marie shook her head, hovering the bowl of ice cream over my head. "I'll warn you now he's faking it for some ice cream."

"Can I share?" I took the bowl, seeing the truth written all over Ben's face as he started to a perfect _O_ with his mouth.

"Only one or two bites," Marie sighed.

But Marie didn't keep count and neither did I, allowing for a very content Ben. The ice cream was delicious, that sugary euphoria helping me to finally relax, no longer forcing myself to be immediately concerned with the remnants of our conversation. I rested back on the couch, watching Marie spoon up the last bit of her ice cream. "Marie, I'm sorry if I scared you today."

"I'm just glad you felt like you had someone to talk to. I know how Spirit can be." Her eyes rolled slightly before she caught herself. "Nothing leaves this room unless you want it to. Especially if you keep the ice cream a secret. Honestly, if Maggy comes through this door, be ready to ditch the bowls out the window." As if jinxing herself, a knock sounded at the front door, and Marie almost tossed her ice cream as promised. Instead she caught herself, coming to the realization that her daughter wouldn't be knocking and disappeared in the entryway.

I took this opportunity to share her last spoonful with Ben, who made a grunt of approval. "Good, Ben?"

"Yum." It says something about Ben that was one of his three words, just behind _mama _and _dada_.

I didn't see him come around the corner frantically, only seeing the leftovers as my name tumbled off his tongue, "Maka."

"Oh, Soul." I bit my lip, trying to decide what to do between Ben and the bowl. Something in me just wanted to hug him.

"You're OK." He pushed a hand through his hair as if trying to shake a thought from his mind.

"Of course she is." Marie nudged him the rest of the way into the room. "Do you want ice cream, Soul?"

"No, but thanks, Marie." Soul looked at me again, a long, steadying breath coming from his lips. "Why don't I just take Ben and let you ladies finish?"

"Just don't toss him around too much, he's had enough ice cream that he might blow." Marie picked Ben up from my lap and transferred him to a still steadying himself Soul who only gave me one more passing glance before moving out of view towards the kitchen. "Did you ask him to pick you up?"

"No." I studied the moment in my head again, knowing he was worried when he walked through the door. I told him I'd be here, and we were only maybe ten minutes away from home, but had he followed me? It seemed unnecessary, but maybe he was feeling just as fragile as I was. "I guess he got bored at home."

"Bored, huh?" Marie took my hands from my lap, holding them in hers. "Everything's alright with you two?"

"Yeah, Soul and I are great. I guess, I just, he's always the sure one, you know?" The tears started to sting at the corners of my eyes but I willfully kept them at bay. "Every step, I feel like I'm the one who holds back, thinking the worst, until he just barrels through it."

"Isn't that what makes you work, though?" Marie shrugged.

"It has, so far," I sighed, pulling my hands away from her grasp.

"Don't add the 'so far'!" Marie used her free hand to nudge my shoulder. "Really, if Stein and I can make it work, there's very little chance of failure for you and Soul."

A little laugh broke through my growing exhaustion for the day. Agonizing about hours can really take a lot out of a person. "I think I'll let Soul take me home now."

* * *

Holding Ben was doing something really weird to me. When we babysat before, I had insisted on Maggy for good reason: babies are weird. They're fragile. They don't really understand what's good or bad for them. Not to mention, they are masters of emotional manipulation. If you would have asked me five years ago, or even probably the morning before we had our babysitting experiment, I would have told you that I would rather try Black Star as my meister before I held a baby.

But looking at Ben, that light grey hair that's almost white, the dull green of his eyes that definitely weren't as bright as Maka's but still in the same ballpark, you could almost imagine that this was _our_ kid, a little mix of both of us. But I was really trying hard to keep that feeling in check, because who the hell was I to even be thinking about us and a kid? I hadn't even finished that proposal shit since Spirit ruined the element of surprise. But I had still said it to her. I still said, out loud, that maybe an _oops_ wasn't so bad.

I groaned but Ben didn't seem to be catching my vibe. Instead, he launched into another epic string of nonsense, peppered here and there with _yum_ or _mama_. I assumed he was reliving Maka sharing her ice cream, but that's not what I could concentrate on, especially as his chubby little hand started to tap at my face, bringing my eyes back to the picture my mind was creating for me before. _Our_ kid. It was a fucking longshot, but it was something that could already be here.

"Hey." Maka's voice made me jump and I turned almost too quickly, getting a little bit of a giggle out of Ben for the spin.

"Hey, sorry for barging in on your visit. I, uh, it's stupid," I let my voice wander off, hoping she'd leave it at that but it was Maka.

"You looked worried." She came towards me and I couldn't tell which would be worse, her taking Ben from me or her holding me with the kid. Either would have definitely brought up more stories in my head. Maka picked the option of taking Ben and I chose to let my eyes take a quick dive to the floor.

"Well, I… I could have sworn you called out me, like in my head." I produced a tight laugh, sure that it sounded borderline crazy. "Or I was probably just-"

"No, I actually kind of did." I looked up just in time to see her eyes still a little wide, her lips pressing together in thought. "I did wish you were here. Maybe with everything, we're getting closer in soul wavelengths, too."

"Then we need to get better at it, full sentences or something, because I was convinced you were hurt, dying," I started to list them out on my fingers, considering all the calamity I had produced on the way to Marie's after that little _call_.

"Well, practice does always help clear my head. Maybe that's what we can do while we're waiting." Maka reached for my hand and I couldn't help it, couldn't help seeing that flash in front of me again as she balanced Ben, making my knees feel weak as she pulled me back into the house.

I waited patiently as we said our goodbyes, finally relinquishing Ben to Marie before heading out the door, because Maka's last communication before pulling me into a position where discussion was no longer an option seemed, I don't know. Cryptic? And as our shoes finally hit the pavement, my arm firmly around her shoulders, I cleared my throat, "Maka, what did you mean while we're waiting?"

"To see what happens." Her arm slipped around my waist, pulling our hips together, throwing our walking off balance.

I almost stumbled, not just because of the movement but because, while that answer hadn't been that much clearer, my mind was already reading it how I wanted to. "You mean you're going to take the chance?"

"We're going to take the chance," she huffed.

It felt like someone cut the thread that was tightly wound around my heart like there was actually room for my lungs to expand. It should be the other way; I had thought that it was now that the worry should suddenly be springing up in me, but instead, I was cool, mellow. But then I realized, this is how I always felt when Maka put her trust in me, when she put her trust in our partnership, and when I knew that I couldn't and wouldn't let her down.

* * *

The last time Soul was up before me was when he plotted the girl's day out, so when I awoke to the other side of the bed empty, a tiny blossom of worry started in my stomach. He'd been a little more likely to hover lately, but other than that he'd been open, maybe even taking more opportunities to laugh. His stress always seemed so far away, leaving him looking almost untouchable to any kind of nagging feelings. Unfortunately, that part of him was not contagious, though sometimes the laughing was.

I gathered enough strength to get myself to sitting, pausing to listen for movement in the house. The absence of sounds of life anywhere else in the apartment helped that feeling flower, spurring me to my feet to begin the room by room search for his presence. I ended up standing confused in front of the coffee maker in the kitchen, having not found a sign of life in the whole apartment beside the full pot left on warm. I poured a cup, letting the heat radiate to my fingers before putting it back down on the counter.

The cup stayed there to cool while I forced myself back into my normal wake up routine, trying to let the normal pattern of cleaning and dressing erase any dread from the odd start to the day. As I was finally making it back to the coffee cup, I heard the door click and softer, careful steps creaking in the hall. "Soul?"

"Oh." I could hear shuffling before he appeared in the kitchen, lifting the bags from his arms to the counter. "Sorry, Maka, thought I'd get back before you woke up."

"That doesn't sound fishy at all." I lifted the cup to my lips to cover an amused smile.

Soul lifted his hands in an attempt to look innocent. "All I did was get us those pastries you like for breakfast since the house seems a little light on food. And I made the coffee." He moved towards me, those guilt-free hands coming to rest on my hips. He waited patiently for me to remove the cup from my lips before leaning in, his lips feathering across mine. "And I might have just ran into Kid, that's all."

"And why do I doubt that it was just a chance meeting over pastries?"

Soul gave me another kiss before going back to his bags, starting to arrange the goodies he'd brought across the counter. "I should have said I made sure to run into him. I wanted to ask him a favor."

I reached for my favorite, a raspberry and cream concoction with a fancy French name. "Okay, so much more fishy. What favor?"

Soul watched as I took a bite, making sure I was chewing before continuing. He was definitely doing his best to keep me out of the running for an argument. "We're not working for all of next week, about nine days in total unless something out of the ordinary comes across Kid's desk. I want us to take a vacation."

I made a _hmph_ as I continued to chew, waiting for any other hints from his face. He seemed to be holding strong to his poker face, cool enough to reach for his own pastry and take a bite. "OK, that's a first. Did you plan that, too?"

"Short notice, so I didn't really have any solid ideas. Thought I'd let you weigh in." He opened the cabinet, took out a fresh cup and poured himself some coffee. "But you're willing to actually vacation?"

"I can take it easy!"

Luckily, he only had brought his coffee cup halfway to his lips, allowing himself to snort rather than do a spit take. "You haven't relaxed a day since you've become a meister."

"Not true." I took another bite of pastry to buy myself enough time to come up with a scenario in which I might have been on any level of tranquility. Soul was waiting with that smirk on his face, only momentarily covering it with his coffee cup to take a sip. "You're up to something."

"If I am, you can't prove a thing." Soul shrugged and put down his coffee, his pastry resting precariously on the rim, looking like it was about to take a swim. His hands cupped my face, pulling my sugary lips to his, giving me a kiss with a hint of cinnamon. "Say yes, OK?"

"Yes, OK," I mimicked, letting him steal a second kiss. "Somewhere quiet, please? Maybe remote, wooded?"

"You're describing the beginning of a horror flick." He ran a hand slowly through my hair, those red eyes shimmering with a joking delight but also something else, something I couldn't put my finger on.

"Well, I guess if I'm going to be murdered it should be with you." I offered him a bite of my pastry, watching him attempt to laugh through the new mouthful.

"Hardly comforting." Soul detached, going back to his own breakfast. "But I'll find something. Just one request?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell Spirit where we're going."


	8. Year 2 (Episode 4)

This is slow going and I'm unsure of how much more of this fic I have in me. Either way, I hope you enjoy this little bit. ****warning: some graphic sex stuff****

* * *

Every fiber of me felt like I was firmly planted in this spot, never to move again. To say that Soul picked a picturesque getaway was a shameful understatement and as I stood on the dock I was sure there wasn't enough time on this vacation to take in the whole sight. The water was that dark, murky blue that showed no obvious bottom. It sprawled out in front of me, blending into a green treeline only dotted with a few similar cabins, only one or two showing life, and all of them far enough away that if we didn't want to we wouldn't see another person for the whole trip.

I could hear him cursing from the cabin which sat a distance from the water atop a smaller hill. Selfishly, I sat down on the dock instead of trekking back, sure that if the situation was actually curseable he'd soon be stomping down towards me anyway. Instead, it went back to quiet, and I slipped out of my shoes, placing them next to me as I let my toes linger across the top of the water, testing the temperature. It was still just a bit too chilly, the spring not giving way to summer yet, but it was refreshing enough to skim the bottoms of my feet.

After at least ten more minutes of scoping out the water, watching the ebb and flow of soft waves, I heard the sound of his footsteps behind me, moving from the soft crunch of the grass to the thud of the wood beneath his feet. "I see you've made yourself comfortable."

"It's beautiful." I turned, my eyes falling on the legs of his pants before climbing up to his face. He'd looked nervous ever since we packed the car, the kind that he was obviously trying to cover up but was failing miserably. I'm not sure he knew, though.

"I made an OK pick, then?" Soul sat next to me, his hand gliding out across my shoulders to find a comfortable hold on me.

"Of course. Anywhere with you would have been perfect." That finally chipped away enough at the agitation in him that I received one of his slick smiles in return. I cherished the victory almost as much as the kiss he gave me, his hand cupping my throat just under my chin. His other hand fell from my shoulder to my waist, squeezing as if he could bring me closer. It took time for his kisses to dwindle, finally pulling back from me to take in the view. "What were you cursing about before?"

"Cursing?" Soul blinked out across the water.

"Yeah, before you came down here you were cursing." I searched my own mind for the specifics, bringing only a little forth, "_Fuck, I should just_ but then it trailed off."

That anxiousness made his smile crumb at the corners. "Technically, I didn't say that just thought it."

We hadn't talked about it again after it happened at Marie's, but there it was again, a fraction of thought sent from one another. "Really loud?"

"How do you think loud?"

I laughed at my own inability to articulate. "Like it had a lot of emotion behind it."

"Uh, yeah, definitely." Soul was lucky that I was more interested in this voiceless connection than the emotion that he wasn't exactly open about.

I clasped his one free hand in mine. Leave it to me to be excited about training on vacation. "I guess emotion adds power. Try to think of something with a lot of feeling behind it."

"I… uh… would you try?" He masked his avoidance with a cheesy smile.

"Um…" I bit my lip, trying my best to find something in my mind that would send out a strong pulse. It was hard to pick something that wasn't incendiary, wouldn't derail the practice. I tried to focus on Spirit instead since for the most part there was always an emotion to be had there for me. In my heart, in my mind, I tried to feel the thought with all of me.

"Hey," Soul blinked back for a moment. "Yeah, Spirit's a slimy bastard for what he did to your mom."

It wasn't great that there was still so much emotion there for me, but the dismay of that was completely run over with the excitement of whatever this step was. "We did it! We're, I don't know, connected!"

"_More_ connected," Soul corrected, his hand squeezing mine. "I guess the more we're together the more the resonation."

"We'll have to talk to Stein, see if-"

His lips cut me off, pressing the rest of the thought to the back of my mind. "We're on vacation," he growled. "All the rest of them can wait."

"Yes, sir." I laughed but couldn't see any humor in his reaction. "But I'm allowed to be excited?"

"You're allowed to be whatever you want here, but if you bring up work or training one more time, Maka Albarn, I'll…" His threat drifted off as I ran my fingers through his hair, pushing him back into an apologetic kiss. "That's better."

"I'm sorry," I murmured.

He finally laughed, "Not necessary." Soul detached from me, slowing coming to his feet. "You stay here. I'm going to start dinner."

"Oh?" I smiled up at him, my hand idly running down his leg. "I'm excited."

"You should be." He turned away from me, starting the walk back towards the cabin. I watched him and saw him pause at the edge of the grass, his head turning slightly over his shoulder.

And that's when I heard it, loud and clear as if it were his lips to my ear. _I love you._

* * *

This idea that she could possibly _hear_ my thoughts was adding fuel to an already completely stoked fire. Maka had been amazingly kind so far, brushing past my obvious nerves at every turn, but I wondered how long my luck would last. I wished I could just take a breath, just reassure myself she was going to be happy and stay that way. Instead, I slaved over dinner as if my life depended on it.

Everything was just about complete when I heard the door click, her soft steps creaking some of the floorboards. "I could sit out there forever!" Her voice rose in the happy little squeal as she stretched her back.

"Stop being cute until after dinner, OK?" I turned my back to her, trying to focus on the last of the preparations and avoid the sight of any further charm.

Maka couldn't let it go, her hand snaking around my waist as she pressed to my back. Her fingers found their way under my shirt, caressing the smooth skin of my stomach. "Why?"

"I'm almost done with dinner." My laugh trickled into a sigh as she drifted her hand lower, her fingers playing at the waistband of my boxers.

"If you just turn the burner off, will it get ruined?" Both of her hands were at my waist now, unbuttoning my pants and pulling down the zipper.

"I don't think so…" The heat from her touch was just enough to start to unwind my anxiety and when her hand slid down the divide between my boxers and pants, it surprised me at how immediate my body's reaction was regardless of any of the emotions clouding my head.

"Turn them off and have a seat." It was agony when her hands slipped away, spurring a rush in me to do as I was told. My mind was nowhere near the pasta resting in sauce, not even capable of the chef-style worry of the noodles cooking beyond al-dente. I just wanted those hands back. The seat didn't seem to make sense to me, but as I turned she pushed, sending my back towards one of the chairs at the dinner table. Just before I could start the bend to sit, she slipped my pants and boxers to my knees, sending me bare-assed to the seat.

"Maka," I tried to rein in the surprise in my voice as she tugged my legs bare. It was a weird sensation being half naked while she was still fully clothed - really, just being the center of the sexual attention.

"Relax." It was a firm order, almost as firm as the grip she took on my shaft, her fingers running the length. I could only groan in reply before she squeezed between my legs, her lips testing out my tip as her tongue ran over the head, making my toes curl. I found my overactive mind trying to worry about the angle, how uncomfortable this must be, how I should be doing this to her, how maybe dinner wasn't going to keep but there was no way thought could hold on as her mouth enclosed over me completely.

She pressed her tongue down the entire length and I could feel the pressure of hitting the back of her throat. I wanted to reach for her, slow her down, but as my hand tangled in her hair she only showed the intention of going faster and my body was agreeing that there was nothing it wanted more. The suction as she moved back up made my hips jut and as she brought her mouth away for just a moment I guided her up, meeting her halfway for a kiss. "You better slow down or I'm going to cum," I whispered breathlessly.

"That's the point." I could feel the smile spread across her lips as she stole one more kiss before sinking back between my legs. I braced my other hand against the chair, feeling her pick up speed right where she left off, as if her mouth couldn't get tired. Sure, we'd done this plenty of times, mostly now as foreplay, but I don't think she'd ever seemed so intense about it before, and hell, it was definitely the best blowjob of my life.

"Fuck," I croaked, feeling the muscles in my legs start to tense, that tingling radiating with each stroke of her lips down the fullness of my shaft. My legs locked, my hips spasming as they did, that burst of pleasure spurring a groan from the back of my throat. It felt like I couldn't move, the throbbing still booming as she still seemed intent on sucking. She finally let me free, swallowing before smiling at me. "Fuck," I murmured again, moving my hands to pull her up to me, bringing her from the floor to almost sitting on my lap, trying to balance on one of my trembling knees.

"Can you relax now?" She murmured, her lips soft against mine.

I touched her face, her neck, all of my sensations still off from the wave rolling over me. "I don't think I can do _anything_ now."

Maka tried to hide her face against my neck, but not before I saw that satisfied smile break across her lips. "Happy vacation." I felt her lips against my neck before she moved out of my lap, bringing herself to her feet. She moved across the open room, our cabin really just one big open space except for the bedroom and the bathroom, before disappearing in the bathroom.

"Happy vacation," I murmured. At least this was relaxing. She reemerged with a towel, resting in my lap before moving to the kitchenette. While she washed her hands in the sink I cleaned myself up, slowing bringing myself to the point where I could pull my pants back up and come back to reality.

* * *

It was Soul's turn to sit out on the dock as I finished the age-old deal of the one who doesn't cook cleans. I could see him from the window, refusing to dangle his feet in since the approaching evening air had probably cooled the water into the unbearable range. The sun was starting to set and the reds, pinks, and oranges lit up the surface of the water, giving it a surreal glow. I was elated by the time the dishes were done, almost sprinting my way down to the dock to catch the end of the color show.

I made it to the dock before he turned, that half-smile gracing his features as he laughed at my exuberance. "Isn't it great?" I plopped down next to him, my shoulder leaning into his.

Soul took the bait and wrapped his arm around me. "Just beautiful."

My little dinner prelude had definitely relieved some of the tension from his day, but I could still see the remnants there and I couldn't stop myself. "But there's still something wrong."

"Not wrong," Soul sighed.

"Then what?"

"We've moved fast lately." Soul squeezed my shoulder like a code, making me wait for him to gather the rest of his words before jumping in. "We don't know about, well, _if_ we're about to take on something new."

I couldn't stop the murmur of interruption, "Not until the end of this week." I felt like the vacation meant leaving that thought at home, but there it was. If I didn't get my period next week, I was late. If by the time we left here I didn't, we might have _something new_ on the way.

"And I know you're worried. I can feel it." His free hand moved into my lap, taking mine, his thumb running over my knuckles. "I've been trying to fix that."

"That's a pretty tall order, Soul." I let out a laugh but at the same time felt it almost surge into a sob.

"Yeah." His laugh was just as faulty. "Neither of us really has all this figured out right now, but I want to make sure you know that you're the most important thing to me." Now the worry and hesitation flooded back, that momentarily lost look on his face like there was more to that sentence.

"I know." I couldn't stop myself from leaning in, taking a taste of that tongue tied mouth.

Soul accepted the reprieve only for a moment. "Maka, I mean that I love you." The words trickled slowly across my lips as if that phrase wasn't something common for him.

"I know…"

"And I don't want you to think that I…" The words choked in his throat, his lips meeting mine in an attempt to buy time, to bring his nerves down. Instead, it just brought them to a fever pitch, the sudden swelling sea of his thoughts crashing into my own just like before. It wasn't that soft whisper in my ear like before but a frustrated cry as if his mouth didn't want to work with his brain.

I had to part from him, the thought he'd planted making my stomach quiver. "Just say what you're thinking."

He loosened his hold on my shoulders and moved both hands to cup mine, squeezing almost too tightly. "Marry me." Even without my answer, he couldn't stop a laugh from bubbling into his throat, the relief obvious on his face. "I guess I should say _will you_ marry me?"

"That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Excruciating." One of his hands left mine, fishing into his pocket. The box was thinner, designed to hide the lines in a man's pocket, but I still wondered at how I hadn't noticed. "But that isn't an answer, Maka."

"Yes." And it suddenly felt like that tightly wound worry had been cut.

The slim box split open, the ring stuck perfectly in a stand in the middle. He let go of my other hand in order to pluck out the ring, holding it towards me. As it slipped over my finger I took a moment to appreciate his choice, an engraved gold band with a dark green stone pinned in the middle. Soul cleared his throat as the ring reached its resting place. "I bought this when we were in Sri Lanka checking out leads about that rogue coven."

I knew he wanted me to do the math, figuring that was at least a few months before the incident with Spirit. "You've been thinking about this for a while." The idea of it made my heart flip, made my hands reach for his face, bringing his lips to mine.

Soul only allowed for one kiss. "I've wanted to since the moment I got it but between your dad and the _waiting_…" A trembling hand came up to my throat, tilting my head so he could look me in the eyes. "I was worried you'd think I was just doing it because I had to, but I want you to know that's completely not it. Our next step, no matter what, is saying those _I-dos_."


	9. Year 3

Really short update! I think I'm hitting a wall with this fic, so I'm going to assume there's maybe one or two more chapters left to write and that's it.

* * *

I had stolen some cushions from the couch and shoved them into the Adirondack chair, making a comfortable nest at the edge of the grass before it gave way to the pebbled shore. My book was balanced on my knees, my attention fluctuating between the water lapping, the words on the page, and spinning the new ring on my finger. It was both a strange and a comforting feeling since jewelry wasn't my regular but this was a piece of me, of us.

As if called, Soul was suddenly there, leaning against the back of the chair. "Reading?"

"Sort of," I shrugged and leaned to the right in my nest, taking a better look at him. He was surprisingly bare for the tepid afternoon, only in a pair of shorts that upon further inspection proved to be his swim trunks. My eyes narrowed, "Are you going swimming?"

"Hell yeah," Soul smiled.

I was sure it had to be a joke, but his smile didn't break into a laugh as I did. "You're insane."

"You mean you're not interested in coming in?" He leaned in quickly, grabbing at one of my ankles as if he were going to drag me in with him.

A squeak erupted from my throat before a laugh from echoed from both of us. "You do and there will be a murder at this cabin in the woods."

"You don't know what you're missing." Soul released me before turning towards the dock. He shot a quick grin at me before running across the wood, catapulting himself clear off the edge into the water in a perfect cannonball. I was sure I'd simply watch the bubbles dissipate and have to save him because of the hypothermia but he surfaced with a rambunctious yell. He howled again but didn't exit the water, letting himself float out on his back.

The fact that he hadn't jumped out just as quickly as he'd gone in had me interested, but also verging on concerned for his health. "Are you regretting it yet?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I thought I'd heard a little chatter of teeth at the end of his sentence but the stubbornness was more apparent.

While he floated along I slipped out of my seat, making my way back into the cabin in order to get the towel I knew he had neglected to get. My guess wasn't wrong since as soon as I came back out the door I saw him shivering up the grass. "You're asking to get sick." I tossed the towel at him and he rushed to wrap it around his shoulders, his teeth still clicking.

"Not if you warm me up." I couldn't stop him from wrapping his arms around me, the towel now draped around both of us. His skin felt like ice but his lips were warm against my neck.

Even as I tried to squirm away he refused to loosen his hold, pushing me back through the door. "Soul, stop it!"

"Come on," he breathed against my neck. "I could catch a cold." We were through the door, his foot kicking it closed behind us. With one arm still strong around my waist, he let the other loosen and started to slip it under my shirt. He pressed me into the wall, getting dangerously close to the side table next to the couch, so much so that I could hear the clink of the lamp as he obviously connected with it, an unhappy groan exciting across my neck. It only kept his attention for a moment before he gripped at my breast needily, his teeth nipping at the soft skin just before my shoulder.

Soul's other arm relaxed and slid from my back, across my stomach, and down my leg in order to get under my skirt. There wasn't a slowness to his touches this time, instantly pull aside my panties to gain access, his finger slipping inside of me. I gasped and pressed against him, forcing him deeper. The towel fell to the floor as he added a second finger on the next thrust, trailing his tongue along my neck until he could plant a kiss on my jaw. "You want me to stop now?" I could feel that smirk spread against my cheek.

"No," I couldn't stop the begging quality in my voice. My knees had already started to shake as he ran those slick fingers over my clit. His other hand was still firm on my breast, moving his fingers to pinch at its peak. "Faster."

His laugh teased at my ear, "Not yet." Suddenly, his hands slipped away and he turned from me, throwing over his shoulder, "Stay right there."

I didn't think I could do any different, just watching as he walked into the bedroom, taking off his trunks in the process. I took the time he gave me to throw off the rest of my clothes, just finishing with my top as he returned, fiddling with the condom in his hand. I moved towards him, letting my hand run down his side as he finished putting it on.

"Come here." His hands came to my waist, turning me so that I was bent over the back of the couch. This position always seemed less personal to me, but the way that it always hit the right spot seemed to erase my worry about a lack of intimacy. A thin inhale, almost a gasp, ran down my throat as he entered me. He almost seemed too slow for the urgency of just a few minutes ago. Instead of another stroke, he stayed there and he leaned into me, giving himself the ability to reach around, his fingers rubbing in a steady up and down motion against my clit.

"Soul," I groaned, my hands clenching into the back of the couch. This was new and if I wasn't so close I might have actually wondered what had gotten into him but instead, I was too focused on keeping my legs from collapsing under me to care how this had entered his mind. Without so much as a warning, he made a slow, shallow stroke, almost more of a grind against me. I moaned again and he took that as a cue for another while his fingers did nothing but press harder against me.

It was a choking moan that rumbling from my throat, my fingers digging into the fabric as I felt the heat finally explode in my center, that undulating tingle emphasized by the slide of him in me. Soul removed his fingers and moved both hands firmly to my hips, pulling me into a hurried rhythm. There was no recovery for me as he continued to thrust against me, using my hips to keep his frantic pace. Those fingers tightened into my flesh, not so much painful as a warning he couldn't keep this up much longer. He opted for the soft groan, those fingers taking one more flex into my skin before turning into a soft glide to my side as his movement slowed.

"What was that?" I managed the words through a breathless gasp.

"You warming me up, of course." Those hands lifted me up to stand up and lean against his chest. He wasn't inside me anymore but refused to let me get far away. "You feel OK?"

"Perfect," I exhaled.

He pulled me even tighter against his chest, his hands steadying me against him. "You are."

* * *

After I finally got that ring on her finger it actually started to feel like a vacation. The whole wedding concept hadn't really even entered my brain, or hers probably, but the fact that she was _it_ was the constant echo in my brain. It felt like I had known that forever, but the fact that she had agreed to it scared away any of those last remnants of worry. Even that last waiting game didn't seem important in the grand scheme of things.

I was enjoying those thoughts again as I was laying in bed, the just risen sun creating patterns across the sheets. It wasn't strange for her to be up first and it usually just kept me from having to make my own coffee. I could smell it drifting through the cabin but couldn't hear any of her movements. Her side of the bed was cool as I drifted across it to bring me to her side of the bed. I took my time to stand, stretching out my back before padding over to the window.

Maka was down by the water, coffee cup at her side and her feet dangling over the side of the dock. Regardless of that surety so deeply ingrained in me, something about the way she leaned forward made me dislike the sight. I turned away from the window, forcing myself to get ready for the day before I joined her. I managed to groom myself before moving to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee and finally forcing myself into a slow walk to the dock.

"Good morning," she whispered through a soft smile.

"Hey." I dropped down to next to her, my hand sliding onto her thigh to meet one of hers in her lap.

Her eyes went back to the water, still holding that smile that didn't entirely seem to suit her. "You're up early."

"After you leave the bed there's not much of a reason to stay in it." My usual playful comment only perked the smile slightly, making my grip tighten on her hand. "Did something wake you up?"

"Uh," her voice fluctuated before she swallowed to steady it, "Just cramps, you know? I guess instead of being late I was early."

"Oh." It was all my body could manage, too focused on reading what was happening on her face.

She still refused to look anywhere but the water, her teeth working along her bottom lip. She finally sighed, her eyes falling to her lap. "Say something."

"It's OK." But she seemed to like that as much as eating gravel. "Maybe it doesn't feel OK, though."

"I don't know why it doesn't." Her free hand came to sweep through her hair, her forehead wrinkling and I couldn't tell if she was frustrated or on the verge of tears. "I keep telling myself…" Her voice cracked and she wasn't on the verge anymore, the liquid collecting at the corner of her eyes just about to burst.

"Hey," I cut her off. I slipped one of my legs behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist, pulling her into my chest. Maka heaved a sigh but didn't formulate any other words, just her shoulders shaking with silent tears. "It was just a chance, Maka. I just pushed you and I shouldn't have."

Her hands rubbed on her face as she took another deep breath. "You didn't."

"I just wanted everything to happen." I pressed my cheek against hers, feeling the leftover moisture. "So, yeah, I did." I squeezed her against me again, almost afraid I was leaving her breathless with the intensity. "We have more than enough time for all of it. Maybe it's better."

"Maybe," she offered lifelessly. Her breathing slowed, no longer wracked with sobs, and she sunk back into me.

It was impossible to look at her with my cheek pressed to hers, so I gave up, closing my eyes and just feeling her body against mine. "Do you want to go home?" I murmured, still wracking my brain for ways to untangle whatever she was feeling.

"Maybe." The broken record quality of her reaction worried me more than the thought of leaving early. It was as if she could feel my distaste for it because she cleared her throat. "Probably not." Her voice was closer to herself. "I just feel crazy."

"You're not," I corrected immediately. I tucked my chin, allowing my lips to trail a line of kisses down her neck. It was finally enough to force her to relax completely into me, a not so sad sigh coming from her lips. "You feel how you're feeling. Nothing crazy about it."

One of her hands came up at an awkward angle but still managed to run her fingers through my hair, pressing my lips back to that trail. "But you're right, we have enough time. Why did I want it now?"

That sting welled up in my heart, my own pain that I had been ignoring to soothe her finally refusing to be ignored. It was as if she had stolen those words directly from my own mind. "You… were sure."

A rough, forced laugh came from her throat, "I bought a book." Her hand drifted out of my hair and I felt her shift. I opened my eyes to see her staring at me. "You know me. I had to read about it."

"I never saw you." I couldn't help but sound incredulous, searching my mind for times she would have had the opportunity.

"During your long showers." That elicited a true laugh from her, making my heart skip a beat. "And a little while you were training with Black Star."

A part of me wanted to be mad, but the way her eyes were searching mine was making me feel the exact opposite like I couldn't love her more. "Why'd you hide it?"

"I didn't want to hurt you." I needed more explanation but she pressed her lips against mine as if she needed that kiss to slow the flow of her emotions. Maka lingered for a moment before clearing her throat, "I knew you were excited. I didn't want to give you false hope just in case this happened."

I couldn't stop the sharp _tsk_ from erupting from my mouth. "I'm still hurt, Maka."

"Soul…" she sighed. "Imagine if you saw the book though. You were half baby crazy with Ben alone."

My sigh tumbled into a chuckle. I ran my fingers through her hair, "You read enough?"

"Enough to be OK, enough to think I could, _we_ could." She looked on the verge of crying again but she stole another kiss. It seemed to allow her to breathe again, a soft laugh becoming her exhale. "Don't get me wrong, I was still nervous."

"If you weren't then I would agree that you are crazy." I loosened my grip on her, letting my hand drift to the hem of her shirt in search of her skin. There was a reassurance in feeling my fingertips against the soft skin of her back. "But even though we _could_, maybe we _should _put a little more thought into it this time."

She bit her lip, pressing her hand into my chest as if she were searching for my heartbeat. "Or think about getting married first."

"Yeah, or that," I laughed. "I think I'd prefer to see you in a dress with this figure."

"Soul!" She huffed, that hand on my chest turning into a prodding finger. "You're not supposed to say things like that."

"Sorry, sorry." My hand moved from her hair to stop the harsh poking. It was hard not to kiss her with that genuine smile creeping across her face, but I forced myself to speak first. "But, we should think about it, all of it."


	10. Year 3 (Episode 2) & Epilogue

I tried out the sentence in front of the mirror, sure that Soul was definitely indisposed by Black Star and that it would be only for my own ears, my own heart. "I want to have a baby."

My own frustrated groan was the only reply from the empty room.

I could say it over and over if I wanted, but did that mean it was the truth? I cried all that morning when I found out it wasn't happening. I cried in front of him as I admitted it, and admitted that I had really actually thought it was happening. I cried intermittently all of the two weeks we had been home after the vacation. Half of that time I could blame it on something like PMS, but for the rest of it…

I was overwhelmed, that had to be it. We'd gotten engaged and were now in the process of telling each person who it would matter to; Spirit being the worst of them all because he just _had_ to try to pick a fight with Soul about the permission that he didn't give. Thankfully, Soul wasn't in the mood to take the bait, or at the very least he resisted the urge. Thanks to Soul's better man behavior, Spirit had to cave and congratulate.

The wedding was a whole other issue. There had never been some childhood set vision in my mind of a floofy, white dress that floated down the altar. As I admitted before to Soul, it was never even something I had fathomed, let alone planned. And somehow settling into being a parent had seemed less intimidating than having a giant party designed to please everyone but ourselves.

"I want to have a baby," I repeated, sitting roughly on the bed and feeling it resist as it sent me on an extra bounce.

What was the alternative? Eloping or maybe just getting married on paper and ignoring any of that societally dictated insanity or get a pretty dress and have an extravagant party. Was there an in-between? Which one could we leave Spirit out of? Just kidding. Maybe that was the decision I or should say we should come to first. And with that, I brought myself back to shedding a few tears.

I had just laid down to let the tears run their course but instead fell asleep, only awakening as his hand cleared the hair from my face. "Maka, time to get up."

"What time is it?" I sat up slowly and he moved to take the space my upper body left behind.

"About 3." His fingers fussed over my hair again before moving to my face as if he were smoothing away the pillow wrinkles. "You OK? You're not exactly a napper."

"You seem to enjoy them so much I thought I'd try it out." I put my hand over his, pulling it to my lap to stop it's overly busy bothering.

Soul didn't even bother to laugh, instead, something closer to a sigh slipped from his lips. "Seriously, Maka, I'm worried."

"I'm not getting cold feet if that's what you're worried about." I smiled but he didn't, his mouth tightening in a frown.

"Don't even joke about that." He feathered his lips against mine, his other hand coming up to rub at my cheek with his thumb.

"Sorry." I lingered over another kiss before slowly standing, his hands slowly relenting and letting my body move away from him. I started to stretch my back, trying to indirectly watch him in the mirror as he sat on the bed and tried to decide what to do with his newly freed hands. "I promise I'm OK, just thinking too much."

Those scarlet eyes didn't buy what I said for a second, narrowing at me as he leaned forward, his elbows coming to his knees. He let his hand rub over his mouth before letting slip under his chin. "You're getting close to pissing me off, Maka."

"To be honest, I'm pissing myself off." That at least brought a half-smile to his face but it disappeared quickly under his hand, those eyes still pierced into me. I pressed into the edge of the desk and pulled myself up on it, swinging my legs. "OK, which part do you want?"

"Obviously all of it," he grumbled.

My inhale seemed impossibly deep, more than my diaphragm could possibly take, but I made ready for my tongue to refuse the words, to crumble now that he was right in front of me. "I want to have a baby." My body practically jolted at the surprise of the words, but he didn't seem phased just staring the same as before.

I waited for anything from him before another deep breath and the jumbled words came rushing out. "I want you to be my husband, but what would we do for a wedding since I have no clue what I'd even want? Do we elope? Do we just sign a paper and forget about the rest? Do you even have an opinion other than what I assume is going to be _it's whatever you want, Maka_? Do we just wait and see how I feel whenever I feel it? Do we just hire someone else to plan it so that I don't even have to think or feel about it?" I could have gone on and on but I bit my tongue, holding the other deluge of circular questions.

The room was so quiet I swore I could hear his heartbeat. He moved his hand away from his mouth, sitting up straight on the bed, taking one more second to let his eyes wander over me as if he was evaluating. "I wouldn't say _it's whatever you want_ since I guess I'd definitely prefer something that didn't require inviting half of Death City but I always thought that's not what you'd want anyway." He huffed, running his fingers through his hair. "I kinda liked the idea of you in a fancy dress, though, but I don't think that needs to be a wedding. I mean, I usually end up wanting to take that stuff off you, anyway."

That scandalous grin he had now made my eyes roll in spite of all emotional mishmash. "That's not helping."

"It's not hurting, either," Soul shrugged. "So we elope. Or we don't do it at all. You just can't stress yourself to the point where you're sleeping all day because that's not what matters." He stood up from the bed, rushing over to me to grip my shoulders as if he were going to shake me. "I asked you, I gave you that ring because it just meant you knew for sure that I was committed. I'm done. I don't need anyone else or anything else. That's what that meant to me."

I couldn't let go of the lamenting thought, "I don't know what I want."

"Maka…" He gave my shoulders a squeeze. "It's only been a few weeks. You don't have to know anything other than you're sure you _want_ to be my wife." That word seemed so alien coming from his mouth, but the goofy smile that tugged at his lips melted it into my heart right then.

"OK, that I do know."

"Do me a favor and say it." That stupid grin was almost too large for his face.

"I'm going to be your wife, Soul."

"Yeah," he cooed as he slid his hands from my shoulders to cup my face. Our lips met, this time far from feathery and light, Soul breaking through my lips with his tongue, searching my mouth. I was almost convinced he was about to start the process of taking my clothes off when he stopped, pulling away slowly. "The last thing."

"What?" I was in a daze, heated and dizzy from his kiss.

"Maka, I need that book."

"What?" My eyes fluttered open to his, trying to make sense of the progression of his thoughts. "I thought we agreed that we were going to think about it. So, I want that book."

I couldn't possibly say _what_ again, but it was my first instinct. It took me another moment before my brain seemed to switch back from lusty to logical. "The baby book?"

"I just… I think we both need to think about it. Give it a little more time." Soul nuzzled his nose to mine. "But I want to read it."

* * *

Soul had never in my entire time of knowing him been a reader. Death knows I'd tried before, anything from Fitzgerald to King, but none of it entranced him in a way that kept him consistently turning a page. I had always just assumed he wasn't built that way and that was fine. It just meant that all our shelf space was mine.

The month after I fished the book out from underneath the bedspring was then the strangest on record. At every turn, I would find him pouring over a page, progressing slowly but surely from start to finish. It was by no means a quick endeavor, but that seemed more to be because he studied every nook and cranny of that book, possibly rereading pages along the way, flipping back for reference. If only he had put this much attention into studying at DWMA.

His face seemed to evolve every time he read, too. I could usually identify when he reached the worst parts, his face growing pale and that look as if he was going to hurl blessing his features. I was proud of him, never once actually losing his lunch to the medical diagrams or horrifying descriptions of what happens to the female anatomy during the glory of pregnancy and childbirth. I had to admit that even some parts made me queasy, made me worry about my own internal integrity.

When we had hit three weeks without him finishing, I felt myself starting to hover, paying more attention to his page number, how fast it took him to scan a page. It was agonizing, but in a way, it took my concentration off the million other questions that had been plaguing me since our initial conversation. It was just that one thought that had started to snowball from the moment we'd had our trial run, we'd had our chance. I was carrying it with me because the more I waited for him the more my mind seemed to pose it as less of a question.

So when I was late getting back one night, giving my own version of a Stein-style lesson to some newbie DWMA students, I was surprised to find the book still on the coffee table, Soul lounging with his head back on the couch, eyes closed. The usual volume for his jazz seemed long forgotten and it felt like the notes were pumping through my veins. I threw my bag on the lounge chair before moving to the stereo, turning the dial to a more respectable level. "Soul?"

His head popped up, those red eyes focusing on me as if I were hard to see. "Sit down." He didn't motion next to him but to the chair adjacent that he'd angled in such a way that it made me feel like I was about to be interviewed.

"OK." I really wanted a shower and maybe something to eat but it didn't seem like a request.

"Give me a second." He stood slowly, stretching a little as if he'd been in that position for hours just waiting for me. He disappeared into the hallway and I heard him fumbling around the kitchen, dishes clinking and maybe a curse or two. When he returned it was with a mug in one hand and a plate in the other. The plate was definitely for me, stacked with delights ranging from mini cheesecake to chocolate-covered strawberries.

I greedily accepted the plate, letting him put the mug on the table, filled to the brim with what smelled like chamomile. "Thank you…" I tried not to make my voice raise to question it.

"I'm bribing you." Soul sunk back into the couch with a sigh. "I feel like I'm going to say a bunch of wrong stuff and I know doing that on an empty stomach would spell death."

"Wise man." I tried to help him out by popping something that looked like a mini tart in my mouth, smiling contently as the lemony flavor spread across my tongue.

"I think I'm safe after two more," he smiled softly, his hand running through his hair in his usual attempt to satiate his own anxiety.

I could tell he was really just buying time, but I humored him, slowly chewing through two more of the treats before putting the plate back on the table, letting the cup take its place in my hands. "OK, I think I'm completely persuaded."

"You say that now," he sighed and let a thick pause fall between us. "I finished the book."

"And?" I felt like I was holding my breath.

"Why you ever even wanted to agree to have a baby is beyond me." He jabbed a finger into the cover. "I know you read about the same weird shit I did, Maka."

He had been smart to give me the sweets first. "Some of it can be a little…" I shrugged, searching for the words in the steam of my tea.

"Gross feels like an understatement." Soul leaned back into the couch, letting that hand absently slide through his hair again. "And a million things could go wrong, right? Both with the baby and with you. I mean, I know the odds aren't high but there seems like there are so many options when it comes to bad shit."

"I'm hearing a lot of bad," I murmured over the edge of my cup.

"Here." Soul grabbed one of the mini cheesecakes, bringing it slowly to my lips, giving me no choice but to eat it. Once chewing, he returned to his rehearsed points. "And forget your current job. You could keep teaching at DWMA, but no more missions. I'm already borderline insanely protective of you."

I nodded through my chewing, examining a point I'd actually never even given a passing thought to. I'd have to go full-time teacher. Marie had bossed Stein into letting her fight but I couldn't imagine getting the same leverage with Soul.

"So here I am queasy for you, worried about you, and above all scared shitless that I could lose you." He couldn't sit anymore, launching to his feet in order to pace anxiously along the couch. "And it feels like I _just_ got you, you know? It's only been what, not even three years of dating? And then you die not because of some epic battle like the Kishin but because I wanted something that could grow up to hate me in twenty years?"

"Slow down, Soul." I put the mug down and grabbed at him on his next revolution in front of the couch, trying to pull him towards me but only getting his feet to stay in one place.

"I know, I know," he murmured. "But nobody hurts my meister, my Maka, you know?" Soul squeezed my hand before moving to kneel in front of the chair. It was a strange position but so oddly sweet, his head resting against my knees, his arms wrapped around my calves. "But the worst part of it all is there's this selfish part of me that doesn't care about the consequences. I want it. I want to have this perfect little Maka copy running around that I get the lucky deal of loving from the beginning."

I ran my fingers through his hair, laughing, "Who says it's just going to be a copy of me?"

"We both wouldn't survive another me." His laugh was a warm breath against my legs. "And you're the cuter one, anyway." His arms squeezed a little more, his cheek moving more towards my lap as if searching for comfort there. "But then you have to think about when. You can't do a baby and a wedding at the same time, Maka. I won't let you. You stress out enough as it is."

While I didn't necessarily like the tone of _I won't let you_, I could at least agree with the sentiment. "True."

There was a pause, a deep breath before, "Did you make a decision about the wedding stuff?"

"No." I absently ran my fingers through his hair again. "I've been thinking about this instead."

"This feels more important to you?" He raised his head as if he needed to see my face for the answer to this question.

"It's more life-altering." I let my hand fall from his hair to his cheek, rubbing my thumb there. "But, did you make a decision about the baby stuff?"

He huffed, "I thought it was pretty clear. I want it, Maka, but we need to have an order. How are we doing this? Traditional or a jumbled mess?"

"When are we not a jumbled mess?"

* * *

EPILOGUE

* * *

Soul had jinxed them for sure, all his hopes and dreams for a tiny little Maka clone trounced with their firstborn, a complete carbon copy of Soul himself, with a grumbling grumpy old man attitude from day one. Regardless of the decimation of his wishes, when Soul held his son for the first time he was sure that he could never love anything so much, or love Maka so much for doing most of the heavy lifting of bringing him into the world. Crona had been a suggested name, but Maka had nixed it, the implication that the other person was usually dead in these situations paining her. They settled on Victor, named for no one in particular.

Somewhere around the time Victor turned one, Soul had come home with wedding bands, the whole idea of a wedding not really a discussion between them anymore. This was what they'd been waiting for, the fluidity of their lives not dictated by pomp and circumstance. It was about a week later that Maka realized, accidentally, that Victor wasn't going to be an only child. Neither of them really seemed to mind.

The universe has a sense of humor and blessed the two with another little boy, this time with the verdant, bright eyes of his mother and the pale complexion of his father. They named him Jack, a name easy and level just like he was as a baby. Much better behaved than Victor, that was for sure. Their first son may be the picture of his father, but he certainly had Maka's spontaneity.

And while Maka clearly thought him out of his mind, Soul begged for a third. He was already focused on the reality that they would just have another boy, perhaps even a red-head like Spirit because that, of course, would skip a generation to irk Soul, but he was willing to hold his breath. With vows that this would be the last, absolutely no opportunities after that, Maka became pregnant with their third just as Victor turned five.

Victor was at a good age for jealousy, already suffering from the split attention of his parents with Jack, but much to everyone's surprise that little bit of Soul personality blossomed in him, that intense drive for protection. Suddenly, he was Jack's and Maka's watchdog, not even allowing the slightest bump or scrape of their precious little heads. Maka found it almost humorous to watch her husband and her eldest vie for who was the best at taking care of the family.

Soul's face was always filled with a special kind of rapture at the birth of each one of his sons, but when Maka handed him his only daughter, with delicate blond locks of hair at her temples and big green eyes, she thought for sure he might burst at the seams. Lyra, their gentle musical soul, the final piece of the happiest melody in their lives.

And while trials and tribulations were always abound since no meister and weapon lived an easy life, Maka and Soul had everything they could ever hope for, especially each other.


End file.
